Never Again
by Jezebel Whitlock
Summary: Jasper and Bella were married during the civil war. 145 years later they meet up after thinking each other were dead. Jasper/Bella OOC. Don't like, don't read
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first fanfiction story. Please be gentle. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**.

Prologue

**BPOV**

_Housten Texas, 1864_

A knock on the door startled me from my thoughts. I was re-reading the last letter that Jasper sent me. Longing for my husband was the most dominant feeling.

Jasper and I were only married a couple of months before he decided to join the Confederate Army. I begged and pleaded for him to reconsider but he wouldn't listen. He argued that it was his duty. I had reluctantly agreed to it, because I didn't want to argue with him. I just wanted to make him happy.

The second knock on the door got me moving. I got up from the table and went to answer the door. Two men in uniform were standing there, their hats under their arms. "Can I help you?" Alarm coursed through me

"Mrs. Whitlock?"

"Yes?"

"We regret to inform you that your husband, Major Jasper Whitlock, is currently missing in action and presumed dead, ma'am. I'm truly sorry, Mrs. Whitlock, he was truly a great man and will be greatly missed."

I didn't understand at first. Jasper was dead? No, that's not possible. I just heard from him two weeks ago.

"How long?"

"About a week, ma'am." The soldier said. "I'm sorry."

"Thank you." I whispered. I kept myself composed as I closed the door. As soon as I was alone, I sank to the ground, leaning back against the door and cried. I cried for my husband, I cried for myself and I cried for my unborn child who would grow up without a father. My hands went to the small bump sticking out between my hips. No, Jasper can't be gone. He promised we'd always be together.

"Jasper…" I whispered, closing my eyes.

Chapter 1

**JPOV**

_Forks Washington, 145 Years Later_

High school.

No matter how many times I've gone, it is always the same thing. Same material, same emotions, same hormonal teenagers lusting after us.

Today was different. Curiosity and lust, were overlapping each other, making me dizzy. Expect these emotions weren't directed at us. If not us, then who? I wondered absently.

"There's a new student." Edward said, reading the question from my head. "Her name is Bella Swan."

Bella Swan. That name sounded eerily familiar but I knew I've never heard it before. At least I didn't think I've heard it before.

"Anybody see this Bella Swan?" Emmett asked, his eyes darting across the cafeteria, as though trying to see her.

"Ask Edward." Alice chirped, slipping her hand into mine. "If anyone's seen her, it would be him."

"I haven't seen her for myself, but I have seen her in the minds every male in the school." Edward grumbled, picking at his bagel.

"Do you smell that?" Alice asked, suddenly.

I was no where near ready to inhale and smell the scents of all these humans. It would be sensory overload. "What is it?" I asked, holding my breath.

"It…sort of smells like a vampire." Rosalie answered.

"What do you mean sort of?" I asked.

"The scent smells human as well." Edward said, scanning the cafeteria slowly. "It must be Bella Swan. I've never smelled a scent like that before."

The next minute, the girl herself walked inside, flanked by Mike Newton and Tyler Crowley. The girl was beautiful. She had mahogany hair that fell to her waist and chocolate brown eyes that were so deep and full of so much emotion. She looked familiar but I couldn't quite figure out where I've seen her before.

Edward glanced at me from the corner of his eye.

_Can you get a read on her_? I asked silently.

He shook his head.

_How is that possible?_

Edward shrugged.

_Real help you are_. I growled silently. I felt the irritation rolling off of him in waves. He pinched the bridge of his nose. _Okay, okay, I get it. _I held my hands up in surrender. _I'm sorry. _

Edward nodded his head once in acknowledgement.

**BPOV **

I was walking to the cafeteria with Mike and Tyler following behind me like lost puppies. It was annoying and certainly getting on my nerves.

I paused outside the door of the cafeteria, tweedle dee and tweedle dumb running into me from behind. "Is something wrong, Bella?" Mike asked, pushing his blond hair away from his eyes.

I inhaled once. There were definitely vampires around. I couldn't pinpoint how many there were but I knew they couldn't be human drinkers. Human drinkers wouldn't be able to interact with humans. For one, the red eyes would give them away almost immediately.

"Bella?" Tyler interrupted, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"I'm okay." I said, shaking it off. I went inside and looked around almost immediately. My gaze flickered to the table in the back where the inhumanly beautiful vampires sat. There were give of them. Three males and two females.

Mike and Tyler were leading me toward a table full of people. I paid them little attention. My thoughts were otherwise focused on the vampires.

"Who are they?" I asked the girl beside me. I think she said her name was Jessica.

Jessica followed my gaze and caught sight of who I was talking about. "Oh. Those are the Cullens. They're Dr. and Mrs. Cullen's kids." She answered with a slight swoon. "There's Edward, Emmett and Alice Cullen and Rosalie and Jasper Hale."

I stiffened at the last name. No, it can't be.

It was hard to tell from where I was sitting. I wish he'd turn around, just so I would know for sure. My wish was granted and he turned around. While the only thing that stayed the same was the honey blond hair, I would recognized him anywhere. It was him. My Jasper.

"Excuse me." I ran at a human speed out of the cafeteria and leaned against the wall, breathing in the cold air. Hysteria was bubbling up as I fought to calm down. Breathe Bella, I coached. Just breathe.

That's kind of hard to do when the love of your life is here, after thinking he was dead for 145 years. My hands slipped to my flat stomach. My baby, our baby was lost shortly after he was born. It shattered my heart into a million pieces. I was ready to give myself up and let death take me. I didn't get that wish. Instead, I got turned into a vampire, forced to spend my immortal life remembering everything that I lost.

I wanted to cry, but even in my human form, I was unable to. I could shift my apperance so that I looked human but I still had the qualities that made me a vampire.

Then I realized how hard the rain was falling. I stood up slowly and headed inside.

My resolve strengthened when I saw them all staring at me. I realized I needed to talk to them. I made my way over there slowly, stopping in front of the table. I didn't look at Jasper. I saw him holding a hand that belonged to a pixie girl. She must have been his mate. Pain coursed through me when I realized I lost my husband again.

"So you're vampires." I said bluntly.

Shock showed on the faces of all five of them. "How did you know that?" the blond haired model demanded. "You're human." She spat.

"Looks can be deceiving."

"Who are you?" The bronze haired god asked.

My gaze flickered to Jasper before jerking my gaze at something above their heads. "My name is Bella Swan—"

"Yes, we already knew that."

"Edward!" Pixie hissed.

"—Whitlock." I finished.

The silence around the table was deafening. Strange, since no one was talking. I waited for them to gather their thoughts until all hell broke lose.

"That's impossible." Pixie said. "Jasper doesn't have a wife. _I'm_ his wife!"

"Jasper and I were married a year before he joined the Confederate Army." I said quietly. "For all intents and purposes, I thought he was dead. In my mind, Jasper Whitlock has been dead for 145 years."

I studied Jasper's face, carefully. His disbelief was obvious on his face. Did he not believe me?

"All right. Follow me if you don't believe me." I turned and walked out without looking back to see if they were following me. I led them to the forest behind the school. And stopped, leaning against a tree. It didn't surprise me that all five of them were there. When you out them on a secret as big as this, they were bound to be suspicious.

"Lets see it then." Edward growled.

I nodded once and closed my eyes, concentrating on my power to revert back to my original form. After five distinct gasps, I knew it worked and I opened my eyes.

"It really is you." Jasper whispered, staring at me.

"Yes." I knew what he was seeing. My hair was still the same length but it was more reddish brown then plain brown. My eyes were honey gold and my body was pale and as hard as stone, marking me for what I was.

"How did this happen?" Alice asked guarded. "How did you become a vampire?"

I could understand her wariness towards me. I ignored the underlining question that she didn't want to say to Jasper. Why did I die when they said I did?

"It's complicated. It would take too much time to explain everything."

The blond haired model, who I knew must be Rosalie, frowned while the tall curly haired brute, Emmett, grinned. "Why don't you come over after school and explain then?" Edward suggested, having calmed down more then the rest of them.

"Edward, is this really necessary?" Rosalie hissed at him.

"Yes, Rose. We need to get the story straight. Besides, don't you think Jasper deserves to know what happened to his wife after she thought he died?"

No one aruged but I felt a pang of loss. I saw Jasper looking at me from the corner of my eye but I ignored it. I needed time to calm myself down before I told them my story.

"Fine." Rosalie said. "Come on, Emmett."

"Coming, Rosie." The two of them left, leaving me with just Edward, Jasper and Alice.

"So what do you say, Bella? Will you come?"

I hesitated, meeting each of their faces. "I'll be there at four. There's something that I need to do after school."

Edward nodded his head in agreement. "I'll call Esme and Carlisle and let them know." He said.

"I'll meet you back at here at four, then." I said.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**JPOV**

Bella. My Bella was coming here.

I paced back in forth in the living room, too caught up in my own thoughts that I didn't notice when Emmett threw Esme's antique vase at my head.

"Emmett!"

"Sorry Jasper. But you're seriously getting on my nerves."

I glared at him and continued pacing, ignoring his irritated feelings at my behaviour.

"Jazz, seriously, it's no big deal. So what if your ex-wife is coming over?"

I winced. Emmett wasn't the best person to talk about this with. He doesn't quite understand why I'm panicking so much about this. "Bella isn't my ex-wife, Emmett."

"Yeah, but technically, you died. So you're no longer married anymore." He said helpfully.

It especially didn't help that he was distracted my his video games to pay attention to my problems. When I heard the car drive up the long driveway, I prepared myself as best as I could, wishing the calmness I work on others would work on me.

The rest of the family came in as soon as they heard the car doors open. I was surprised when I heard three doors shut. Who did Bella bring?

Edward came inside, followed closely by Bella, in her vampire form and another man I didn't know. I sized him up. He was tall with a build between Emmett's brute muscles and Edward's lean build. He had a mop of black hair and appeared to be twenty-three. I felt a surge of jealousy when I saw Bella gripping his arm.

"Everyone, this is Adam. He's a _very_ good friend of Bella's." Edward said, glancing at me so that I knew.

_They aren't mates?_ I asked him.

He shook his head. "Esme, Carlisle, this is Bella Swan." Edward said, turning his attention back to Bella.

I searched Bella's emotions. They were surprisingly calm, all things considered. Adam's on the other hand was protective and loving.

"Welcome Bella." Esme said, taking Bella's hand.

"Thank you." she said in a quiet voice. "You have a beautiful home."

Esme laughed. "Thank you, my dear."

"Shall we all sit down?" Carlisle asked, leading us into the living room. I sat on the love seat with Alice in my lap. I felt pain come from Bella but I tried to ignore it. _Alice is my wife now, Bella was my past_. I continued that mantra until Edward sent my a death glare. _Stay out of my head if you don't like what you hear_! I snapped at him.

"So, Bella, what brought you to Forks?" Carlisle asked, starting things off slow.

"Adam and I came here almost seventy-five years ago. We decided to come back so we could come out during the day." She said with a small smile on her face.

"So you know about the Quileutes werewolves?" Carlisle asked.

"The shapeshifters? Of course we do." Adam said ruffly.

"Shapeshifters?" Carlisle repeated.

"Those aren't the true children of the moon." Bella said, relaxing agaisnt Adam with her head on his shoulder. "For one, they don't travel in large packs the way these ones do."

Bella's words sparked intrigue for Carlisle. I could tell he wanted to question more about her. "Carlisle," Alice chimed.

He cleared his throat unnecessarily. "Right. Well Bella, why don't you tell us about yourself?" he suggested. "How did you become a part of this world?"

Bella looked down, her hands moving subconsciously against her smooth stomach. "It's okay, sweetheart. Just tell them." Adam whispered, knowing we could hear it.

Alice was trailing her fingers down my arm, distracting me from Bella's pain.

"I don't know where to start." She mumbled.

"Just start at the beginning."

Taking a deep breath, Bella raised her head and stared at Carlisle. "Okay. It started the day I learned that Jasper was missing and presumed dead. We had been married for a less than a year when he went to war. I had begged and pleaded for him to reconsider but he told me it was his duty to go and fight. Eventually I just got tired of fighting with him and agreed to let him go.

"All that time he was gone, I missed him like crazy. I spent a lot of time with his family, his mother especially. Neither one of us wanted him to be there, fighting. he would send me letters and I get all of them, each time a new one came, I would go to his family's house and we would read it."

Bella's sadness creeped into me and I knew it was only going to get worse. I could barely remember the things she was telling me.

"Jasper was granted a leave of absense shortly after he was promoted. He came home and we celebrated. He was so young and I was so proud. When he went back, I became depressed. I spent more and more time with Savannah, Jasper's mother. I didn't want to sit alone in our home, wallowing in my own self-pity." Bella flinched and I sent her a wave of calm and sincerity.

"It wasn't much longer until I found out I was pregnant." Her voice lowered until it wasn't more than a whisper.

Shock overcame me and Alice fell out of my lap when I jumped up. "What?"

"Sit down Jasper and let her finish." Esme scolded me.

I settled back into the seat and pulled Alice back to me. "I'm sorry, darling." I said to her, kissing her temple.

"It's okay Jazzy." She smiled her dazzling smile and turned her attention back to Bella.

I couldn't ignore the look of utter heartbreak on Bella's face. I didn't want to hurt her but I loved Alice.

"Go on, Bella." Edward insisted in his soothing voice.

I shot daggers at him. I could feel the protectiveness radiating off him in waves. How could he feel this way about her after knowing her less than four hours?

"I was about two months along when the doctor told me that I was pregnant. I couldn't wait to write to Jasper and tell him the news. But I was apprehensive. I didn't want to tell him in a letter. I wanted to tell him personally, so I could see his face when he heard the news.

"Shortly afterwards, I was sitting at home one day, reading a letter that Jasper sent when I heard a knock on the door." She paused and I knew where this was heading. The room was silent and tense, waiting for Bella to continue with her story. Even Rosalie was paying attention instead, a new shock.

"When I answered it, two soldiers were there, telling me that Jasper was missing and presumed dead. I nearly broke. I refused to believe that he was never coming home, that our baby wouldn't have a father. I spent two weeks in bed, not eat, not sleeping, not going out. The love of my life was dead, what reason did I have to get up and keep going? Of course, Savannah, sick with her own grief, came to me and ordered me to move in with her. She didn't want to see me wasting away when I needed to move on and keep my baby healthy.

"I stayed with Savannah until my baby was born. He was so tiny and I was so afraid." Her pain came so strongly it would have brought me to my knees if I had been standing.

"Afraid of what, Bella?" Carlisle asked in his gentle voice.

"Afraid of myself. I didn't know if I could do it by myself. Raise my son without his father and without a home for myself." She looked down, wringing her hands. "Turns out, all my worries were useless."

"What do you mean, Bella?" I demanded.

"What happened to the baby, Bella?" Esme asked, her pain as sharp as Bella's.

"Andre died not too long after he was born. He had trouble breathing on his own. Apparently his lungs weren't fully developed and they didn't have the technology they have now in order to help him."

Esme moved to Bella and took her into her arms. I could understand how this tale would hurt Esme. She lost her son before she was changed as well. The emotional climate of the room was making me dizzy. I tried to send of wave of calm to everyone but they were so caught up in their emotions that it didn't work.

"I'm sorry, I need to get out of here. I can't take all these emotions."

"Go on son, we understand." Carlisle said softly.

~*~

When I came back to the house after my run, I hesitated and went inside. Everyone was still sitting in the living room, as still as a statue. Esme and Adam were sitting beside Bella with Edward sitting at her feet. Esme was holding Bella in her arms. Bella was absently running her fingers through Edward's hair and he was purring. "What the hell is going on?" I demanded, staring at Edward.

"It's calming her down, Jasper." Carlisle said, crossing his arms. "Leave her be."

"Why don't we contine the story, Bella?" Esme asked.

She took a calming breath and leaned her head against Adam's shoulder again. "What happened after your son died?" Rosalie asked.

Bella swallowed. "I had nothing left. I didn't want to live anymore. I had nothing left. I tried to…"

"She tried to kill herself." Adam said for her.

"You _what_?"

Bella flinched and I fought to work down my anger.

"Why would you try to kill yourself!"

"Jasper," Carlisle said softly. "Bella's story is similar to Esme's. She would have died if I hadn't changed her." he reminded me.

I sagged back down to the couch. "What makes a person want to kill themselves?"

"Loneliness." Esme said, stroking Bella's hair. "Bella's heart shattered when she thought you died, Jasper. There was that thin thread of love still left in her heart for your son and when he died—"

"There was nothing." Bella finished, dry sobbing on Esme's shoulder.

Their pain was crippling. It made my pain excruciating. I wanted to take Bella in my arms but I knew it wouldn't help. It would only make matters worse.

"How were you changed?" Edward asked, taking her hand and squeezing it gently.

I felt her comfort and my jealousy spiked. _Get your hands away from my wife_! Edward didn't even spare me a glance.

"Jasper," Alice interrupted.

I was too busy focusing on Bella that I didn't notice Alice. "How were you changed, Isabella?" I demanded.

"I was walking one night, through the forest. It was dark and hot. I tripped over a log, you know how clusmy I am. Or was." She laughed without humour. "I cracked my head on the log and I couldn't get up. A vampire caught my scent and followed it until they came across me. Instead of being nice and ending my life like I wanted, they decided to change me and make me remember my pain for eternity. So for three days, I burned, thinking I was in hell for my sins. When I woke up, I was alone, thirsty and angry."

"How did you know what you were if you were alone?" Carlisle asked.

"I hunted a herd of deer. As soon as I finished my third, I put two and two together." Bella closed off her feelings until I could feel nothing. Shock coursed through me.

How the hell did she do that?

"Adam, can we go home?" Bella asked weakly.

"Of course, darling."

They stood up and Adam spoke for them both. "It was nice to meet you, though it could have been under better circumstances." He said.

"You're welcome back anytime." Carlisle said, standing up to shake his hand. "The boys told me about Bella's power. If you don't mind, I would like to work with you and test it for myself, when you're up for it, Bella."

She smiled and nodded her head. "Of course, Carlisle."

Edward jumped to his feet. "I can drive you back if you want." He offered.

I growled at him. How dare he talk to her like that!

"That's okay Edward. We can run home. It really isn't that far away." Adam said.

"Thank you, Edward." Bella leaned up and kissed his cheek.

The room was silent as they left. "What the hell was that, Edward?" I demanded, breaking the tense silence.

"I was just saying good bye, Jasper. That's what people do." Edward said calmly, staring out the window.

"Don't pretend that was what you were doing. You were flirting with her!"

"I don't see how that is any of your business, Jasper."

_She's my wife Eddie_, I seethed silently.

His eyes tightened. "But you're married to Alice. You have no intention of leaving Alice for Bella."

Alice gasped. "You wouldn't do that, would you Jazzy?"

I hesitated and looked over at Alice. My sweet Alice, sitting on the couch with her chin on her knees. Could I leave Alice? I flinched away from the thought.

"You can't string her around, Jasper. It isn't fair to her. She loves you unconditionally but being here, seeing you is hard on her. Especially seeing you with Alice. One day Bella will find a new love and there will be nothing you can do."

I couldn't believe he was telling me about what she was feeling. I was supposed to be the empath! He's the fucking mind reader who couldn't even hear a thing from her.

"I may not be able to hear her Jasper but her eyes speaks volumes. If you weren't too busy avoiding her gaze, you would have seen that."

"I never thought I'd be the one to agree with anything Edward says, but in this case, he's right." Rosalie said, flipping through the magazine she was reading. "It's cruel to make her think she still has a chance with you."

I stared at her in shock. Never once has Rosalie stood up to Edward, and on something as minimal as this. "I have no plans of stringing Bella along. I would never do that."

"Your thoughts say differently." Edward said.

"Stay out of my head, Edward."

"It's kind of hard to do when your shouting them at me." he retorted back.

"I was not shouting them!"

"All right boy, that's quite enough." Carlisle interrupted before a fight could start. "Jasper, I think you should talk to Bella." He said. "Straighten things out with her."

I glared at Edward. "Fine."

"But not today." Esme said in her motherly voice. "She's been through enough today. She doesn't need anymore heartbreak."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Thanks for the reviews and all those who put this story on their favs and alerts. It makes me feel so proud. Although, I would have liked to have more reviews. :( Anyway, enoy the next chapter **

**Like always, I don't own anything… **

Chapter Three

**BPOV **

"Adam?" I slowed to a stop as we neared the little cottage. "Thank you for coming with me today. I don't know if I could have done that by myself."

"You know I'm always here for you, Bella. If you need something, all you have to do is ask." He smiled and kissed the top of my head. "You were wonderful in there. I know how hard that was for you."

I bit my bottom lip, thinking about what happened at the Cullens. Of course, I knew all about them. Everyone knew about the Cullens. They were the largest vegetarian coven in the vampire world. Not even the Volturi was that large. I should have tracked them down a long time ago. At least then I would have found out about Jasper sooner.

Not that it would have changed anything. The way he behaved with his mate today told me everything I needed to know. I lost Jasper, forever.

"Adam?"

"Yes?"

"If I asked you to leave with me, would you do it?"

He didn't answer right away. And I didn't badger him for one. He would tell me when he was ready. Finally he sighed. "If you were sure that was what you wanted, then yes, I would. But don't make any rash decisions before you talk to Jasper. You don't know what he has to say, Isabella. For all we know, he wants to talk to you. We can't just up and leave without knowing everything first."

Before I had the chance to say anything, I heard a noise. "Do you hear that?"

Adam stilled and listened. "Where's it coming from?"

"North east. There's three of them."

"Vampires?"

"No."

Three minutes later, two large werewolves and a man dressed in only cut off shorts came out from amoung the trees. I wrinkled my nose at the smell. We may have known about the werewolves but that didn't mean we were immune to their wet dog smell. "So the Quileute boys are shifting again."

The leader was staring at us with caution. "I am Sam, the alpha of the Pack."

"Yes, I gathered as much." I said, shifting my body to the side. "I'm Bella. This is Adam."

"We don't care to know your names leech. We are here to warn you of the treaty." He growled.

"We already know about the treaty, alpha boy." Adam said. "The last alpha of the Pack did the same when we moved here the first time. In fact, Bella and I were pretty close to Ephraim Black. We watched his back and he returned the favour."

One of the wolves, the russet coloured one, raised its eyes to us.

"Then we don't have to stay here any longer than necessary. Remember the rules bloodsuckers. No biting, no killing." He turned his back and left. The russet wolf hesitated before following after them.

~*~

School the next day was a little harder then I expected it to be. Not only did I not have Adam with me to help me but I had to see my Jasper all the time.

I wish we hadn't come to this town. I was sitting in Spanish, oblivious to the teacher's lecture when Mike Newton tossed a note onto my desk. I peered at it for a moment before glancing at him.

_Read it_, he mouthed.

I opened the paper slowly and read the words. _**Do you want to go to First Beach with me on Saturday?**_

First Beach, I thought. That was on the rez. Nope, couldn't do that. I shook my head at him and tossed the paper back to him.

_**Why not? **_He tossed it back to me. __

The bell rang, saving me from having to answer. It wasn't just that I didn't want to go out on a date with Newton, because I really didn't, but Adam and I weren't allowed on the reservation. Part of the treaty. I doubt I'd be able to get away with it, even in my human form. To them I smell like a vampire/human hybird. My scent is too sickly sweet for their tastes, just as their scent can only be summed up by wet dog. I wrinkled my nose, just thinking about it.

"Bella!" Mike caught up with me as I was heading to the cafeteria. "So, why don't you want to go to First Beach? If you worried it's gonna be a date, you don't have to be. It's a group thing."

That doesn't make it any better. A vampire fraternizing with the humans. This child doesn't get the hint that vampires are dangerous. "Sorry, Mike, I can't. I'm busy this weekend." It wasn't exactly polite but at least he got the message.

Or not.

"Why not? What are you doing?"

Was he really going to make me come up with an excuse? Apparently so, judging from the look on his round face. "I'm going to Seattle with Adam."

"Who's Adam?" he demanded.

I thought for a couple of seconds. Couldn't say boyfriend, couldn't say father, therefore that left me with—

"He's my brother. A lot of our stuff got burned in the house fire so we have to go shopping." I winced internally. Shopping. I detested shopping with a passion.

"Oh." He's shoulders slumped. "Well, maybe some other time."

Don't bet on it. Thankfully Edward appeared at my side before walking into the cafeteria, saving me from losing anymore brain cells just by standing next to the imbecile that was Mike Newton.

"Hey, Bella, can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked in his velvet smooth voice.

"Of cours, Edward." I flashed a smile at Mike before turning my back to him. "Thank you for that. I don't know how much more I could have taken." I whispered, low enough for him to hear alone.

"His thoughts weren't any better." Edward said.

"His thoughts?" I turned to him, intrigued. "So you're a mind reader, are you Mr. Cullen?"

A crooked smile graced his beautiful lips and my breath caught. It was the first time someone has dazzled me since I married Jasper.

"Can you read my mind?" I asked.

"No." Edward led me to a table, one away from where the rest of his family was sitting. "All I hear is silence. You are the one and only person that I've never been able to hear."

"Well that a relief." I laughed. "But what about Adam? Can you hear him?"

Edward nodded.

"Better not tell him that." I warned. "Adam's thought are very private. He doesn't really like sharing them with people. Not even me and I've known him for a century."

"How did you meet Adam?" he asked, staring at me with his golden eyes.

"That is another story that is better off told when there aren't any humans around."

"Fair enough." We sat in silence until I noticed his four siblings staring at us. I couldn't bring myself to look at Jasper or Alice so I settled on Emmett. Seeing him for the first time, he reminded me of a bear. His height and the way his muscles rippled. I shivered, just thinking about it.

"He's as gentle as a teddy bear." Edward interrupted, catching me. "Emmett wouldn't hurt a fly. Unless of course someone was hurting someone he loved."

"You're all so tight. Like a family. I've never seen anything like that in all my years." I turned to look at Edward. "I've heard about you. Everyone has. But no one can quite believe it until they see it for themselves."

"I know." Edward agreed.

"Why are you alone, Edward? How come you haven't found a mate yet?"

He looked at the table, running his long, pale fingers across the seams in the wood. "Probably the same reason you haven't."

"So you're still heartbroken at the loss of your husband?" I teased.

Edward laughed. "No. I just haven't found the right person yet."

"But doesn't it bother you, living with three mated couples?"

"All the time." He answered. "Especially when I have to hear the vile thoughts and sounds coming from different places of the house."

I winced. "Yeah. I could see how that would suck."

**JPOV**

Edward was driving us to school in the volvo today, just like any other day. Emmett and Rosalie were making out, much to my discomfort. I was drowning in the lust radiating off them. It didn't help that I had to sit in the back while Alice had shootgun.

"Get over it Jasper. We're almost there." Edward said.

_You'd feel the same way if you felt what I do. _I sent him silently.

"Yeah well, I have to hear it so who has the worst?"

_Me. _

Edward grumbled under his breath and smoothly pulled into a parking spot. The five of us got out and headed into the school. I kept a lookout for Bella, unsure whether I wanted to talk to her today or not.

"Come on, Jazz man. We gotta get to class." Emmett said, wrapping his arm around Rosalie's shoulder as they headed towards the science building.

I kissed Alice quickly and followed Emmett and Rose. Sitting down in my desk, I watched as Mrs. Ashton put her books down on the table.

While I waited for class to begin, I stared out the window, thinking about Bella.

**Flashback **

_I was sitting at the table, reading a letter that my father sent when I felt small hands touch my shoulder. I put the letter down and looked up. _

_My beautiful Bella stood there, a smile of her lips. "Hello, my love." _

"_How was your day?" she asked, leaning down down kiss me. Her plump lips tasted like strawberries. _

"_Kind of dull." I wrapped my arms around her tiny waist, pulling her closer while her arms snaked around my neck, teasing the hair at the back of my neck. _

"_Really? Is there anything I can do to make it better?" she leaned down and whispered in my ear, nipping the skin of my neck with her teeth. I shivered in delight. _

"_Oh, I can think of a couple of things." I stood up and carried her, bridal style towards the bedroom. I tossed her onto the bed and watched as her breathing picked up. "The things I'm going to do to you." I shook my head. "You're going to be begging for mercy." _

_She shivered and waited. Little did she know…_

_I jumped the bed and started tickling her. Bella was one of the most ticklish humans I've ever met. She laughed and shrieked, begging me to stop. _

"_Jasper… please…" she was laughing so hard, tears were forming in her eyes. "Please Jasper… stop…" _

"_You know what do say, Bella. Say it and I'll stop." _

"_Mercy." _

_Smiling, at her, I stop the torturous act and collasped beside her. I pulled her into my arms and she rested her head on my chest, working to calm herself down. "I love you, darlin." _

_She looked up at me with those brown eyes and kissed me softly. "I love you too, Jasper. So much." _

**End of Flashback **

I remembered that day. It was a couple of days after we were married. Bella had gone strawberry picking with one of her friends. I remembered seeing the bucket full of plump, red strawberries in the kitchen. Bella must have been eating them as she picked them. I remember her telling me that she never got more than a bucket full of strawberries because every two strawberries she picked, she'd always end up eating another one. It must have taken her the entire afternoon just to get that one bucket.

I laughed. It's funny the things you remember when you actually try to.

Emmett was staring at me with a raised eyebrow. He was sending off waves of concern. Was I okay? I nodded my head at him.

I was so caught up in my own memories that I didn't even have time to worry about my bloodlust. How odd.

As the morning progressed into lunch, I made my way to the cafeteria with Alice in tow. She held my hand, like any other day.

"Where's Edward? Usually he's the first one here." Emmett said, taking notice of the empty table where we usually sat.

"He said he was going to find Bella. Carlisle wanted to talk to her at the hospital after school so Edward went to go and tell her."

"Why Edward?" I asked, trying to hide the jealousy.

"Who cares if Edward wants to tell her?" Rosaile asked.

I didn't answer but I watched as the two of them came inside and sat down at a table on the other side of the cafeteria.

I listened in on their conversation, just to make sure they weren't doing anything Edward might regret.

"You are the one and only person that I've never been able to hear." Edward said.

Apparently I wasn't the only one listening in, because every once in a while, Emmett would glance over at them.

"You're curious about her, aren't you Em?" I asked, gaining his attention.

"Well yeah. Who wouldn't be? She's a part of your past. A part that none of us know about. Not even you."

"I know about my past." I defended.

"Of course you do, sweetie." Alice chimed, stroking the sleeve my sweater.

"Then why haven't you told us about her? Why wait until she shows up and then tell everyone that you were married in your human life?" Rosalie asked.

"Because he doesn't remember her, isn't that right, Jazzy?" Alice asked.

"Wait, wait, wait. You remember everything else in your human life but not your wife? Don't you see something wrong with that picture?" Emmett asked.

"I don't remember everything. I just get these flashes of things. Memories of them when I see a place or a picture." I growled " Besides, how much do you remember of your human life?"

"I remember things." Emmett said.

"Can we just drop it, now? What's done is done and it can't be changed." Alice said.

"Speaking of change, Alice, how come you didn't see this happen?" Rosalie asked. "You're supposed to be the all knowing pixie."

Alice looked down. "I can't see her."

There was silence from the rest of us. "What?" I asked. "What do you mean you can't see her?"

"I mean I can't see her, for whatever reason Edward can't hear her."

"Do you think she's got some sort of a shield?"

"Only one way to find out."

"Eleazar."

"Someone's going to have to tell Carlisle."

"I'll do it." Edward said, coming toward the table. I glanced around and noticed Bella was gone. "I'm going with her after school to talk to Carlisle."

"Why are you going?" Rosalie asked. "Shouldn't Jasper go?"

"I'm going because she asked me."

"Edward, just be careful. We don't know anything about her." Alice said.

I didn't like the way Alice said that, but I didn't think anything else about it.

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	4. Chapter 4

**I own nothing… expect this chapter **

**Enjoy. **

Chapter 4

**CPOV**

I was sitting in my office, going over some paperwork when I heard a soft knock on the door. "Come in." I called.

Putting the pen down, I look up, surprised to see Adam walk inside, dressed in a white lab coat and a stethoscope around his neck. "Adam. What a surprise. What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to you." he said, sitting down in the chair across from me. "It's about Bella."

"Bella? Is she okay? Did something happen?"

"No, no. Bella's fine." He assured me quickly. "She called and said she was coming here after school with Edward to speak to you. What I need to say is in regards to Jasper as well." He said.

"I see."

"I was wondering of the reationship that you have with Jasper. You see him as a son, do you not?"

"That's correct." I answered. Where was this going? I mused.

"I love Bella like a sister. We saved each other from a fate that neither of could have gotten away from by ourselves. I know her inside and out and there isn't anything I wouldn't do to keep her safe." He sighed. "Bella told me all about Jasper. She's afraid of getting her heart broken again. She needs closure and the only way she's going to get that is if Jasper speaks with her."

"Well, I agree with you there. Esme and I have both told Jasper that he must speak with Bella." I said. "Jasper's start to this life wasn't like ones that we've seen before. Alice saved him from himself. He needs to come to terms with his feelings before he can talk to Bella. None of us want to see Bella get hurt."

Adam nodded his head. "Bella told me she's thinking about leaving."

"Leaving?"

"Yes. I convinced her that she needs to talk to Jasper before she makes any rash decisions. Hopefully she'll listen to me. You have a good family, Dr. Cullen. All I want to do is protect mine."

"I understand. I'll have a talk with him before anything can get out of hand."

"Thank you."

There was silence until Anna knocked and came inside. "Dr. Cullen, your son is here to see you."

"Yes, thank you, Anna. Send him in."

She nodded and peeked over at Adam. "Hello, Dr. Swan." She said shyly.

He chuckled. "Hello, Anna."

Edward and Bella came inside then. I was surprised to see Bella in her human form. Everything about her reminded me of a human. If I hadn't seen her in her original form, I would have thought she was a human, save for her scent.

"I should leave you to your work." Adam said. He walked over to Bella and kissed her forehead. "I'll see you later, Bella."

She nodded. "Bye, Adam."

"All right, Bella. Have a seat." I said.

**EPOV**

"_All right, Bella. Have a seat."_

Bella and I sat down in the chairs across from Carlisle, waiting for him to speak. "Edward told me something of interest in regards to you, Bella."

"He did?" she looked at me blankly. "What is it?"

"Has Edward told you of the extra abilities the family has?" Carlisle asked.

Her eyes popped wide. "Everyone in your family has an extra ability? Jesus, no wonder the Voltrui are so afraid of you."

"No, Bella. Only three members of the family have extra abilities."

"Oh. Well, still. It's very rare to find such a large coven, and even more rare to find one with three extra abilities."

"I concure." Carlisle said.

"I only heard that Edward is a mind reader." She finally said, getting back on track. "We didn't quite get to talking about the rest of the family."

"No matter. Alice has visions. They are subjective and can change when someone changes their mind." Carlisle glanced at me. _Should I continue_? He asked silently. I nodded my head once.

"Jasper is an empath. He can feel and manipulate the emotions around him. It can be very useful at time but other times, it can be very overwhelming. That was why Jasper had to leave halfway through your story yesterday. The emotions of the rest of the family was staggering for him and he needed to clear his mind." Carlisle explained.

I watched Bella. She had her hands pressed together, her fingers interlaced. I wanted so badly to know what she was thinking but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't hear a word.

"What does this have to do with me?" she finally asked.

"While we were talking, Rosalie asked Alice why she didn't see you coming to Forks. Usually she knows when there are vmpires coming but in this case, she was completely blind." I explained. "Also," I chanced a glance at Carlisle. Neither Jasper nor I have told him about this. "When you were telling us how you knew you were a vampire, Jasper was… tasting your emotions in a way. Then, you closed it off completely. He couldn't feel anything."

Bella said nothing. Carlisle's thoughts however, were thinking of possible explanations for why that would happen. I didn't try to decipher what he was saying.

"So, what your saying is I have a mental shield?" Bella asked slowly.

Carlisle blinked. "Well. Actually, yes. That's exactly what we're saying."

"So not only can I shift my outward apperance, but I also have a shield." She looked at me. "So is there any way for me to… expand that shield so that Edward could hear my thoughts? If I wanted him to?"

"Technically, yes."

"Will you help me?" Bella looked at Carlisle, then at me.

I was surprised Bella wanted our help. "Bella, if you want our help, I'd be more than happy to assist you. I've always been curious about the extra abilities vampires have. But I think I should call in a friend of mine. Eleazar will be able to help even more than I can."

"Whatever you think is best, Carlisle." She said. "I just want to know the extent of my ability."

Carlisle smiled. _Think of all the possibilities. I can't wait to start working. I should call Eleazar soon. The sooner he gets here, the sooner we can get started. _

"Carlisle, she's not a lab rat."

"Of course not." He agreed. "Bella, if you wouldn't mind, I would love to see you shift your apparence."

"Sure Carlisle."

She stood up and closed her eyes. We watched as Bella's hair turned from the mahogany colour she usually wore to a honey blond hair. I was sure her eyes would be different. even her facial features changed.

Several more minutes later, Bella opened her eyes and she no longer looked like the same person. If I hadn't seen her do it, I wouldn't have believed it was her.

"Incredible." He breathed, staring at her.

As she started changing again, I could tell from her eyes that she needed to hunt. "Bella, does changing deplete your strength?"

Bella nodded. "I usually have to hunt every two to three times a day."

"You should go hunting then, before you slip up." Carlisle advised.

"All right." she was back to her human form. "Edward, would you mind coming with me?" she asked, hesitantly.

"Of course not." I said, standing up. "I'll see you at home, Carlisle."

"Be careful." He called.

**A/N Sorry it's so short but you've already got a chapter today. **

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	5. Chapter 5

**A/N Sorry its so short but it's essential for the story. The next chapter will be much more interesting. Enjoy. **

Chapter 5

**APOV **(Alice)

I paced the bedroom, unable to relax. Ever since Bella showed up, I've been worried about what will happen with Jasper. I can't lose him. I love him so much.

I was worried about what will happen. It's shocking and annoying. Because Jasper keeps changing his mind on what to do, I can't get a hold on what he's going to tell me. I wish he'd hurry up. The suspense is killing me.

Okay, not literally. But you already knew that.

**JPOV**

After my hunt, I headed towards the house. The closer I got, the stronger the emotions I felt, coming from the upstairs bedroom.

Panic, worry and anger was radiating off of Alice. It was strange how such a tiny creature could carry such heavy emotions. Especially someone like Alice, who dances around the house like an energizer bunny.

I hesitated outside the room. Usually I wouldn't do this but I was worried about how Alice was going to react. Taking a deep, unnecessary breath, I knocked on the door. "Alice, it's me. Can I come in?"

"Of course, Jasper."

I opened the door and peeked inside. Alice was sitting on the bed with her back to me. "Alice, I think we need to talk about what's happened the past two days."

"I agree." She said. It was strange to see Alice so serious. This was not my Alice.

"What have you seen?" I asked tentatively.

"Nothing useful. You keep changing your mind. And sometimes I don't see anything since your life is so intertwined with hers."

Hers. Bella. I couldn't quite believe that Alice hasn't been able to have visions of Bella. Why did she have to be so different? That's a stupid question, I guess. I fell in love with Bella for that exact reason. Because she was different.

"Jasper, just tell me. Are you going to leave?"

I hesitated long enough to feel the spike of panic she was already feeling to skyrocket. "I haven't decided anything Alice." I admitted, going to sit on the bed beside her. "There is so much that I have to work through. I never thought I'd see her again, just as she never thought she'd see me again."

"But do you love her?" Alice turned to face me. The look on her face was heart breaking. It was like I aready picked and she knew the worst was coming.

"Alice, I'm always going to love Bella. She was my life and my friend for most of my human years. I've been having flashes of her since she came back. It isn't easy to squish those feelings. Especially when I have to relive those memories again." I pulled her gently into my arms and stroked her soft spiky hair.

"What does that mean for us?"

"I love you, Alice. You and I have been together for over eighty years. It isn't easy to forget something like that. You brought me back from the brink of depression and showed me a life I never thought possible." I nuzzled my face in her neck, inhaling her intoxicating scent. "You brought me here, to the Cullens. That isn't something I'm ever going to forget."

"But that doesn't change the fact that you love her too."

I sighed. Sometimes being an empath doesn't help. All it does is confuse the emotions swirling around me. And it really didn't help in this case.

"Darlin, you don't have to be jealous of Bella. She was my past. You are and will, forever be my future."

She peered up at me with her golden eyes, love dancing behind them. "You mean that?" she whispered.

"Of course I mean it." I cupped her chin in my hand and leaned down to press at chaste kiss on her lips. "Have I ever lied to you in the past?" I murmured, deepening the kiss. My tongue darted out and licked her bottom lip, begging for entrance. She complied, our tongues fighting for dominance.

Naturally, before anything else could happen, Emmett decided to interrupt. "Howdy ya'll."

And apparently took to the southern accent.

"_Howdy_, Emmett?" Alice snorted. "Really?"

"What? I'm just trying it out." he shrugged nonchalantly. "Why is it Jazz can use an accent but I can't?" he pouted.

"Because he actually _has_ an accent, stupid." Rosalie said, coming inside after him.

"Rosalie, watch the language." Esme shouted from downstairs.

She rolled her eyes. "What are you two talking about anyway?" she asked, staring at us with interest.

"They were having a little _alone_ time when I came in." Emmett snickered. "They were all over each other when I came in."

"How odd. This is Alice and Jasper. They're aren't ones for a physical relationship."

"Would you two get out, please? We were having a private conversation!" Alice threw one of the throw pillow at their heads. Rosalie ducked and Emmett caught it.

"Oh. Is it about Bella?" Emmett asked. "Dude, she is one hot tamali. No wonder you still love her."

"Emmett!" Alice screeched.

"What? She is!"

Rosalie smacked him upside the head. "Emmett, seriously?"

"Why is everyone looking at me like I'm the bad guy? We all know it's true. You can never forget your first love, isn't that right, Rosie?"

"No."

"Emmett, seriously! Get the hell out of this room and don't say another word about Bella!" I growled.

"What have you got against her, dude? Jeez, Edward's right. She's too good for you anyway."

Anger coursed through me and I threw Emmett through the door. "Don't speak about Bella to me, Emmett or so help me god it won't be the door you're going to be thrown through."

"Jasper Whitlock!" Esme shrieked. "What have you done?"

I blinked and realized what happened. "I'm sorry, Mom." I apologized. "I can fix it if you want." I offered.

"No, Jasper. I can do it myself." She growled. "Between you and Emmett, I'm surprised this house hasn't fallen to the ground. Now apologize to your brother. I do not want rough housing inside."

I glanced over at Emmett, who was staring indignantly at the wall. "I'm sorry, Emmett."

"S'all good, brother." He grinned, completely unbothered by the whole thing. That was Emmett for you.

"Jasper? Why don't we leave the house so we don't have any more distractions?" Alice suggested, resting her little hand on my arm.

I nodded in agreement. "We'll see you two later."

We jumped out the window and ran to the meadow near from the house. I sat down on the grass and watched as Alice sat across from me.

"Jasper, are you going to talk to Bella?"

"Yes. I think I have to."

"But why?" she whined.

"I owe her an explanation, Alice. I don't want to hurt her and if I didn't tell her, Carlisle would be disappointed in me. I don't need any more disappoint."

"Carlisle could never be disappointed in you, Jasper."

"You don't feel the things that I do when I slip up. You know I don't do it purposely. But whether they say it out loud or not, I know exactly what you're all feeling."

"I should probably go and find her." I said. I stood up. "Do you know where she is?"

"I think Carlisle said she went on a hunt with Edward."

I shoved down the jealousy and nodded curtly. "Thanks Alice. I'll see you later."

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**I need to know whether or not I should continue with this. I've been getting so little reviews. It's discouraging. So please… REVIEW!!! **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N A little Edward and Bella bonding **

**And for those of you who were wondering about Adam, never fear. You'll learn his story **

Chapter Six

**BPOV**

Hunting with Edward was… peaceful. He didn't play with his food and only did what he was necessary. His grace and movement made me jealous. He was so beautiful when he hunted, despite the fact that he looked a little animalistic.

"See something you like?" Edward teased, looking up at me from where I was perched in the tree.

"No."

"Uh huh. I'm sure." He snorted and buried the carcass. "Aren't you going to hunt? You're the one that needs it more than me."

"I was just watching. I like watching your technique."

"Thanks." He flashed his crooked smile and I bit my bottom lip.

"I should probably start hunting now." I jumped from the branch and smiled at Edward. "Meet you back here when I'm done?"

He nodded. I turned my head away to keep from getting distracted and closed my eyes. I breathed in and listened closely. There, coming north east. A herd of five elk. While elk blood may not have been my favourite, at least it was something to quench the thirst.

I pounced on one, snapped the neck effortlessly and drank the warm blood, sighing in relief as it cooled the burning in my throat.

After two more elk and a mountain lion (I was lucky when the mountain lion came in my direction), I made my way back to Edward. He was in the same position I was when I watched him hunt.

"Good hunt?" he asked.

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand before climbing the tree and sitting down beside him. "You can say that." I stretched my arms. "I feel better now. Not so weak." I peeked up at him from beneath my lashes. His bronze hair was tousled from the wind and the sleeves of his shirt were pushed up to his elbows.

To my surprise, it started snowing. I absolutely adored snow. It reminded me of the first time I'd ever seen it. Shortly after Jasper and I were married, we'd gone up to Boston to see my grandmother. She was sick and dying and I wanted to say goodbye to her before she died. Usually, she'd be the one coming to us but since we lived so far away, it was hard for her to come. That first day was so memorable. I smiled, just thinking about it.

**Flashback **

_Jasper and I had just gotten off the train in Boston. We were walking through the train station when it started snowing. _

"_Look Jasper. It's snowing." I laughed and held my hands up like a child, trying to catch one of the flakes. _

"_Haven't you seen snow before?" he asked, staring at me with amusement. _

_I shook my head. "Papa and I always lived in places where its never snowed. Usually Gran comes to see us, not the other way around. _

"_Come on, my love. We should get a carriage before we have to walk to your grandmother's house." _

_I giggled. "Yes, Gran won't be pleased if we come dripping wet onto her expensive carpets." I slipped my arm through Jasper's as we walked. "I swear, sometimes I wonder if she loves those carpets more than me." I pouted. _

"_Now, now, Isabella. Why on earth would you think that?" Jasper drew me closer. "You are an angel." _

"_With the attitude of a hyena." I teased. _

"_Ah, that's not true." He kissed me gently and pulled me along. _

_When we got to Gran's house, the snow had already begun to accumulate. Jasper sighed and shook his head sadly. "I pity the man who has to go through this." _

"_Here you are sir." The chauffeur opened the door and moved so Jasper could get out. _

"_Thank you." he said, paying the man. "Come on, Bella." He held out his hand for me to grasp as we trudged through the snow towards the house. Jasper was a few feet in front of me, waiting for me to catch up. I was forced to hold up my gown so the hem wouldn't get snow. _

_If he says that to me one more time, he's going to get a snowball to the face, I thought grudgingly._

_"Bella?" _

_With a sly grin, I gathered snow into my gloved hands and threw it at the back of his head. Jasper turned around in surprise. _

_"It wasn't me." I said innocently._

_"Oh, really? Then, pray tell, who was it?"_

_I glanced around and noticed the empty area. "A ghost?" _

_He chuckled. "I don't believe in ghosts darlin. And even if i did, why would they just lob a snowball at my head?"_

_I put my hands on my hips. "Maybe because you're annoying your wife." I said._

_"My apologies ma'am." He tipped his hat. "Now, to settle the score..._

**End of Flashback**

I glanced over at Edward. I wasn't sure how long I sat, reminicing about the past but he hadn't said a word. "What has you thinking so hard?"

"You really want to know?"

"Of course."

"I was thinking about Jasper. He was with me when I saw my first snowfall. I threw a snowball at his head and blamed it on a ghost."

He chuckled.

"My grandmother was so mad when we walked into the house, dripping wet and shivering from the cold."

"I can imagine."

"It reminds me of the first time I met Adam."

Edward straightened and looked at me. "How did you meet Adam? I've been so curious about it."

"Well, Adam and I met in 1901. I was visiting the Volturi. Apparently they wanted to meet me so I went. I had nothing to do. I was just wandering with no real purpose. "I stared ahead, seeing it pass as I spoke. "I was in Florence when I first met him. I had come across a young girl. She had been brutally beaten and I needed to help her. So I took her to the hospital and told them what I knew twisitng some of the details. She was bleeding so badly and I hadn't hunted in a couple of days so the burn in my throat was incredibly hard to bear."

"But… wouldn't the hospital be even harder?"

"Absolutely. It was." I mumbled, leaning my head against his shoulder. I shivered from the memory.

"Go on." He urged.

"Well, when I got to the hospital, Adam came out. He was a doctor. I was surprised when he told me that he's seen this before. He told me there have been two other cases where the victim, both female girls between fourteen and twenty, were found in a similar, if not worse state. Except the only difference between the three cases was that this young girl survived. Apparently I found her just in time." I sighed. "Anyway, after they cleaned her and fixed her, I saw them. Bite marks. So I knew. Whoever had been killing these youngs girls were vampires.

"As soon as I knew she was going to be okay, I went out in search for this vampire. At first I thought it was a newborn. No one in their right mind would hunt humans and expose themselves so close to Volterra. Turns out, I was wrong. The vampire knew exactly what he was doing. He was trying to draw the Volturi out. He knew that if he left a wake of destruction by killing humans in the open, the Volturi would come. He wanted to overthrow them."

"Was it the Romanian coven that caused it?" Edward asked.

"No. I thought that at first too but I talked to Stefan. He didn't know anything about this and neither did Vladimir."

"Oh. That just seems like something they would do."

"They would try to overthrow the Volturi but not at the expense of humans. They don't hunt unless they need to." He nodded for me to continue. "So, I decided to draw him out. I shifted my image until I was a lone human girl, walking in the forest. He was surprised that I fought him back because I was still strong, even in my human form. But imagine my surprise when Adam, the very human, very breakable Adam, comes out, having followed me, believing that I was human."

Edward sucked in a sharp breath.

I ignored him. "Adam, my sweet, lovable Adam tried to fight off the vampire. Suffice to say Daniel—"

"Daniel?!" Edward yelled. "You fought Daniel?"

"Would you let me finish?"

He cleared his throat. "Uh, sorry." He said sheepishly.

"Yes, Daniel. He was an all powerful member of the Volturi guard. Aro sent him away when he thoguht Daniel wanted to get rid of them. Daniel was good at shielding his mind from Aro, something that made his suspicious so he kicked him out."

"Yeah, I know all about Daniel. Everyone does."

"All right. So Daniel bit Adam. He had every intention of draining him dry but I pulled him away. I can't tell you exactly how I decapitated him but I did and even had my own arm ripped off in the process. I didn't have time to suck the venom out of Adam because I had to burn the pieces that belonged to Daniel. All I could do to help Adam was push more venom through his veins. I sat with him, unmoving as I watched Adam burn and let my arm reattach itself.

"Adam didn't say or utter anything his untire change. It was the first time I've ever changed someone but I knew he wasn't supposed to lie there quietly. I was afraid I had done something wrong. Finally, after three days, he opened his eyes. I taught him how to hunt and I told him what he was. It surprised me, but ever since he opened his eyes, Adam has never had a problem with his bloodlust."

"Really?"

I nodded. "We came across a pair of humans during his first hunt. I was the one that wound up going after them and only because I have hunted in a week. It shocked the hell out of me when _he _caught_ me_." I shook my head in awe. "We waited for a couple of months before he went back to the hospital. He didn't even feel the burn, Edward. He stared working and we've been together ever since. I don't think either of us were cut out for the nomad life. It felt good to have a companion."

Edward nodded his head. "I know. Carlisle felt the same way when he changed me."

I looked at him curiously. "How did he change you?"

So Edward launched into his story about how he was changed and why. I tried to imagine the beautiful boy beside me looking that ill. I found it hard to believe.

"That's quite the story." I said when he finished.

He laughed. "Not quite as exciting as yours. Or even Adam's."

"I think our stories define who were in this life." I said, watching the sky as the sun tried to peek through the thick clouds.

"Carlisle, as well." Edward looked at me. "Are you going to tell him about this?"

"No. I think I'll let Adam do that." I said, looking at him. "I only told you because I knew you wouldn't judge me. I didn't mean to bring Adam into this. He only followed me because he thought I was human."

"I don't think he'd mind that much."

"You don't know Adam."

He laughed.

**JPOV**

I followed Edward and Bella's scent through the forest until I stopped beneath a tree, where it just stopped.

Edward laughed from somewhere above my head and I looked up. Sitting on a branch, at least fifty feet in the air, was Edward and Bella. They were sitting side by side, laughing at something.

Ignoring Edward completely, I called to Bella.

"Bella? Can I talk to you?"

Bella looked down at me. "Sure Jasper." She smiled at Edward and jumped, landing softly and gracefully at her feet. "See you later, Edward."

We took off running until we came to a small meadow near the house. Bella sat down, unbothered by the snow. She leaned back and smiled, looking like an angel.

I sat down a little farther away, stiff and uncomfortable. "You know, I think this is the first time we've been alone since we first saw each other again." I mused, more to myself than to her.

She laughed, sounding like bells. "I think so too. You have such a large family, I'm surprised you haven't gone crazy from all the interruptions."

I didn't want to tell her that I did in fact lose my cool when I threw Emmett through the door. "Privacy is a privilege you learn to forfit with this family."

Neither of us spoke for several minutes. I was actually relieved. It was just nice to sit in the quiet with Bella. She had such a calming influence. You would think she was the empath.

Bella giggled softly. "What?" I asked, looking up at her.

"Uh, nothing."

"I don't believe you."

"You probably don't want to hear it."

"Try me."

"I was thinking about the first time you ever made love to me." She whispered with her eyes closed. "We were in the barn, a week before the wedding. The rain was pouring down so hard and we were soaked through."

I remembered that. But she was right. I didn't want to hear about that. "Bella—"

"This isn't what you wanted to talk about. I know, but you asked. So technically, it's your own fault."

I chuckled. Bella was always trying to pin the blame on someone else. "Bella, you know I love you right?" I watched as her eyes opened and she looked at me with those gorgeous topaz eyes.

"Do you?" she asked doubtfully. "Because you don't act like it."

I winced. Maybe that wasn't the best way to start this conversation.

"Jasper, just skip over all this. Please, just tell me what you came to tell me." She whispered.

Unable to look her in the eye, I looked down at my pale, scarred hands.

"I choose Alice."

**Please don't hate me. I couldn't help me. I know you all want to kill me now but don't worry. I'll have the next chapter done ASAP. **

**In the meantime… please REVIEW. **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N Thanks to all the wonderful reviews for the last chapter. I know you're all anxious to read what happens next but this IS a Bella/Jasper story. Jasper choosing Alice is just part of the story line. **

**Here is the next chapter. Enjoy **

**I own nothing **

Chapter 7

**BPOV **

I walked into the house, feeling dead inside.

"Hey Bella," Emmett said from the couch.

I ignored him and made my way up the stairs, looking for Adam. I could hear him and Carlisle having some sort of conversation in the study. I knocked on the door. "Come in, Bella." Carlisle called.

Before I opened the door, I composed myself so no one could see how deeply I was hurting. The only person who knew was Jasper and I knew he wouldn't tell anyone.

"Hi."

"What can I do for you, Bella?" Carlisle asked.

"I need to talk to you about something." I said. "Have you called your friend yet? The one who lives in Alaska?"

"I have told him about you. Why?"

"I was wondering if Adam and I could go up there, rather than stay here." I mumbled, staring down at my hands. "I have nothing against you, Carlisle, but I can't stay here. Not anymore."

"What happened, querida?" Adam whispered, wrapping his arms around my shoulder. "Did something happen with Jasper?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

I looked up at Adam. "Please, Adam. You promised. You said if I was sure that it was what I wanted, than we would." I pleaded to him. "Please."

He sighed and nodded. "Yes, I did promise. Okay, Bella. When you're ready to, we will leave."

We both turned to Carlisle. "Can you call him?"

"Of course, Bella. Though I'm sad I won't be able to assist."

"I can call you when something happens."

"Thank you, Bella. That would be great." Carlisle picked up the phone.

"_Hello_?"

"Eleazar, it's Carlisle." He said.

"_Ah, Carlisle, old friend. What can I do for you?"_

"Do you remember the woman I spoke to you about? The shifter?"

"_Yes, of course. I am eager to meet her. Kate and I will be coming soon_."

"There's no need for that, friend. I've spoken to Bella just now and she wishes to come to you instead, if you're okay with that."

"_Well that is splendid. I look forward to seeing her. Do you know when she is coming_?" Eleazar asked.

Carlisle looked at me. I thoguht about it. I wanted to say goodbye to the rest of the family and wrap up some loose ties. I figured about—

"A week." Adam said.

I looked at him and nodded my head in agreement. "What he said. We have some things to do before we leave."

"Did you hear that, Eleazar?"

"_Yes, I did. I look forward to meeting them both_." He chuckled.

"Come on, Bella. Let's leave Carlisle to talk with his friend." Adam said. "We'll go tell the rest of the family. If that's okay, Carlisle?"

He waved us off. We went downstairs. Everyone was sitting in the living room. "Did you hear that?" I asked tentatively. Emmett nodded, his face surprisingly serious, completely different from his usual carefree personality.

"Bella, are you leaving because of Jasper?" Esme asked in a gentle voice. "Because you don't have to run away. We want you here."

I smied at her weakly. "I appreciate that, Esme but I can't. I can't see Jasper here, happy with Alice. It hurts enough as it is."

"Will you come back, Bella? You can't just walk into our life and leave without another word." Edward argued.

"I already promised Carlisle that we would stay in touch."

"We'll hold you to that promise, Isabella." Esme warned.

"We'd better get going. We still have things to do." Adam said, pushing me forward gently. "We'll come back before we leave."

**JPOV**

I went to Alice. I needed her. She was lying on the bed, reading a magazine. I went into the room and pounced on her. "Jasper!" she gasped, giggling. "What are you so enthusiastic about?"

"I wouldn't call it enthusiasm." I sighed and looked down into her eyes. "I told Bella the truth." I said.

"And what's that?"

"That I choose you." I nuzzled my face in her neck. "That I love you."

"Was that all you told her?" Alice asked. Her feelings were ranging between relief and hesitance. She wanted to believe what I was saying but she needed to hear me say it again.

"Yes Alice. That's all. Nothing else seemed important." I didn't like lying to Alice but I didn't want her to know everything I told Bella. It was between the two of us alone.

"We need to go shopping! I've been so depressed the past couple of days." She pushed me off her and ran to the door. "I'm going to talk Rosalie into going with me." Alice paused at the door. "I love you, Jazzy."

"I love you, too, Alice."

She blew me a kiss and darted out the door.

I rolled onto my back and covered my eyes with my arm. I thought back to what happened in the meadow, no matter how much I wish I didn't have to.



"I choose Alice."

Bella was silent for a moment, trying to work out exactly what I was saying.

"What?" she finally asked.

"I choose Alice." I whispered again.

Pain filled her emotions. I wanted to send her a wave of calm but I knew she'd just yell at me. She needed to feel her own emotions.

"But… _why_?" she whispered.

"It's best this way, Bella. We don't know each other anymore. It's been too long and to be honest, I don't really remember you. Things changed."

"That's why we needed time to get to know each other again. Jasper, you can't expect everything to be exactly the same as you remember it. You've changed and god knows I have as well."

"Bella," I moved forward, wanting to comfort her. She took a step back.

"Please, Jasper. Don't." Her voice was weak. She was suffering by my words and there was nothing I could do to help her. "I've been back with you for a couple of days. You haven't even bothered to get to know me. You won't look me in the eye." Bella's voice dropped to a whisper. "Not even now, when you know you're breaking my heart."

I tried to look at her, but thinking about all that pain made me wince. "I'm sorry Bella. You know I'll always love you but—"

"Love?" She laughed, humourlessly. "That's funny, Jasper. You and I both know that you don't love me. How could you possibly love me when you have _her_? When you have a family that loves you no matter what? What could I possibly have to bring you comfort? All I have is Adam and even that won't last. He and I both know that when he finds his mate, he won't have any time for me."

I heard the crack at the end of her sentence. I knew at that moment she wished she could cry. I also knew at that moment I would have rather she'd thrown something or gotten angry than feel her in so much heartbreak. Anger I could deal with. I was used to feeling anger.

But heartbreak?

"I always knew you were better off without me." Bella said in her quiet voice.

My head snapped up and looked at her. For once, she wasn't looking at me. She was looking down at her pale, tiny hands. "What are you talking about?"

"You could have done so much better than me Jasper. Sometimes I wondered how lucky I was that you picked me." She frowned. "I used to think it was all a dream and one day I'd wake up and realize that it was." She shook her head, her eyes glossy with unshed tears. "How could someone like you, beautiful and perfect, want to be with someone as pathetic and clusmy as me? It just doesn't happen."

Her insecurity washed over me. But what was I supposed to say? "Bella,"

"I knew that when you died, God was punishing me. I don't know why." She finally looked at me with her golden eyes. "I don't deserve love, I guess. I've lost so much, it's amazing I haven't gone to the Voltrui and asked them to destroy me."

"Don't say that, Bella. You deserve love. You deserve to have everything you want."

She looked at me with those hollow eyes. I shivered. How could eyes that lit up with love just dim to there was nothing but pain?

"Just not with you." she came to me slowly but I was too surprised to move. Bella placed her hand on my cheek and looked up at me. "I'll always love you, Jasper. I don't know whether or not you feel the same but just remember." She leaned closer and pressed her lips to mine in a soft, chaste kiss.

"Bella," I warned.

Her hand dropped and she smiled. "You'll come to regret this decision, Jasper. I don't know when or why, but you will."

I stared at her dumb founded. She turned her back to me and started walking towards the house. "Bella!"

She didn't turn back and tried to understand what she said.



I was still contemplating over what she said when I felt a range of emotions coming from downstairs. Disappointment. Rage. Concern. Troubled. Anger. Loss.

Dizzy from all the verying emotions, I sent a wave of calm before going downstairs to investigate. The family, besides Alice and Rosalie, were sitting in the living room. Edward sat, ramrod straight, staring at the piano keys. Carlisle was sitting in the armchair, with Esme at his feet, frowning.

"What's going on?" I asked, looking for any sign that could identify the reason behind their behaviour.

"Bella's leaving." Edward growled.

I froze. "What?"

"She's leaving, Jasper." Emmett repeated in a hard voice. "Whatever you said to Bella in the forest is making her leave."

"Bella's leaving because of me?" I couldn't believe it. "Where is she going?"

No one answered for a second. "We don't know." Edward said. "She doesn't want us to know."

I could tell he was lying. I couldn't believe he was trying to lie to an empath. "You're lying." I looked over at Carlisle. "Where is she going?"

"I told you it wasn't going to work." Carlisle said dryly. "Lying to an empath would only bring trouble."

"When is someone going to tell me where the hell she's going?" I yelled.

"Calm down, son." Carlisle said.

"Bella doesn't want you to know where she's going." Edward answered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"What do you mean?"

"Exactly that."

"I need to go talk to her." I turned and walked out. I needed to tell her she didn't have to leave. The family needed her.

No one knew exactly how much. Not even me.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

**BPOV**

Adam and I started packing. We didn't have that many belongings. We learned that we had to leave things behind when we move from one place to another because it gets tedious and annoying, lugging everything you own with you.

"Bella, when are you going to tell me what happened?" Adam asked, leaning against the doorframe.

I frowned at him. Adam wasn't the one pester for answers. I dropped the shirt I was folding and looked at him. "Why do you keep asking that? This isn't you."

He ran a hand through his black hair. "Bella, this isn't like the last times that we've left. This time is different."

I sat down on the bed and looked at him. He came to sit beside me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. He kissed my temple and rested his chin on my head. "Please tell me Bella. I hate seeing you hurt."

With a sigh, I leaned my head against his shoulder. Tentatively, I started telling him what happened in the forest. Adam didn't react in any way but I knew him well enough to know that he was angry.

When I finished, he shook his head. "I can see why you would want to leave."

"You're not upset?" I asked.

"Of course not, Bella. You know how much I love you."

I smiled and kissed his cheek. "How was I so lucky to find you?" I asked, peering up at him.

"No, Bella, I was the lucky one. I would have turned into a total savage if you hadn't stayed with me."

I snorted and elbowed him in the ribs. "Please. You and I both know that you would never have been a savage." I laughed. "Thank you for making me feel better, Adam. Now, we have to finish packing."

Adam went back to his own room while I continued packing my clothes.

Ten minutes passed when I heard a soft knock on the door. I didn't even realize someone was coming. I must have been so absorbed in my own thoughts that I didn't pay attention. Just as I was about to go answer, Adam answered it.

"Jasper." Adam said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to Bella."

"I think you've done enough damage, Jasper. I don't think Bella wants to talk to you." he said in a hard voice. "Now, I suggest you leave before you hurt her anymore than you already have. Bella's been through enough."

"I don't want to cause any trouble, Adam. I just want to talk to her."

There was silence. "Stay here." he said. I heard him walk down the hallway and stop outside the door. "Bella? Do you want to talk to him or not?"

"Okay." I said. "Let him in." I went back to folding my clothes and pulled out the remaining out of my closet.

"Bella?" Jasper came inside hesitantly. "Can we talk?"

"You can talk. Doesn't mean I'll answer." I said, as I finished putting the clothes into the suitcase.

"Bella, what are you doing?"

"Packing, what does it look like?" I walked over to the desk and started wrapping up the picture frames and putting them in the boxes. I paused at one photo and sighed. I turned to face Jasper for the first time since he walked into the room. "I want you to have this." I handed him the photo. You would tell from the crease in the middle that it's been folded many times.

"What is it?" he didn't even look at it.

"Just look at it, Jasper. I have to finish packing." I finished putting my photos away. I didn't have that many possessions. With everything packed, the room looked a little bare. I sighed, looking around. We just barely finished unpacking and already we were getting ready to leave again. Who knew this would be such a disaster?

"Where did you get this?" Jasper asked suddenly.

I looked at him. "I went back to get it after my change." I said. "I didn't want it to be left behind."

The photo was black and white and it was of us on our wedding day. It was the only thing I went back for. "I didn't want to forget what you looked like."

"Bella,"

"You can keep it, Jasper. I don't need it anymore."

Jasper put the photo away and sat down beside me. I didn't move but I straightened my back and stared at the wall.

"Bella, why are you doing this? You don't have to go."

"Yes I do. We both know it."

"Damn it, Bella! Why? The family doesn't want you to leave. If you could feel their emotions--"

"Well I can't and it's better this way Jasper." I stood up and walked to the window.

"You don't have to leave because of me, Bella."

"_Yes_, I do." I turned around and glared at him. "What do you want from me Jasper? You can't have it both ways. First you tell me that you choose Alice; that you love _Alice_ and yet here you are, telling me that I don't have to leave. What do you want, Jasper? To stay and _watch_ you be in love with Alice? Watch you two be happy and have all things that _I_ wanted to have with you? That isn't fair; Jasper and you should know that. If you had any decency at all you would just let me go."

Jasper stood there, staring at me with his mouth open. He looked like he was about to speak, but then he changed his mind.

"Will you at least tell me where you're going?" he asked so low I wouldn't have heard him if I were human.

"I'm sorry, Jasper. I can't. I don't want you to know where I'm going. It's better this way. You can forget me and I… well, I can try to forget you." I leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek. "Adam and I will be coming to say goodbye to the rest of the family before we leave. This is our goodbye. I think it'll be safe for both of us if this is the last time we see each other."

Jasper didn't move. I waited for him to agree. When he didn't, I was worried that he wouldn't. Finally, he nodded. "If that's what you want."

"It is." I smiled sadly. "Goodbye, Jasper."

"Goodbye." He whispered so low I don't think I was supposed to hear it.

When he was gone, Adam poked his head inside. "Bella? Are you okay?" he asked, staring at me with concern.

I nodded, staring out the window into the rainy evening. "I'm fine."

**Alright, that's it. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks to **Say Whitlock Cullen Halliwell **for the review. It helped spark an idea for part of the argument between Japer and Bella. :) **


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm sorry the last chapter was so short. But it was essential to the story. Anyway, here's the next chapter. The POV changes between different characters in this chapter but like always, important to the story line. Enjoy. I own nothing. **

Chapter 9

**BPOV **

_One Week Later..._

Adam was waiting for me.

I knew we had to go but I was procrastinating. It wasn't exactly a surprise that I was anxious about going there. What if Jasper was there? I don't think I'd be able to handle it well if he was.

reathe Bella, just breathe.

"Hurry up, Bella! We have to get going." Adam called, interrupting my breathing techniques. I knew it was silly of me to behaving like a human but my nerves were all over the place. Now would be a good time for Jasper's gift though I doubt it would even work on me.

"What are you doing?" he demanded, coming inside.

I was sitting on my bed with my hands in my lap. It wasn't like I was doing anything important.

"Bella. We have to go. You promised the Cullens that we would go see them before we left. You told Jasper that he didn't have to be at the house while we say goodbye and something tells me that he won't be there. Now we really have to go. Get a move on before I drag you there."

"Okay, okay." I grumbled, standing up. "Jeez. Who knew you were so annoying?"

"You did. Now I happen to like keeping promises."

"Yeah, yeah, so you said."

He chuckled. "Silly, Bella. Worrying about all the wrong things."

**JPOV **

I could hear the car coming up the driveway.

"Jasper, you ought to get out of here before Bella and Adam get here." Edward said from the piano.

"What do you know about it?" I demanded, ignoring him.

"I happen to know everything. You were thinking about it when you came back. It's kind of hard to hide it." He said dryly.

_Keep out of my head_, _Eddie Boy_.

He grimaced and started to play.

"Edward's right, Jazzy. It's better if you're not here." Alice said, pushing me out the back door. "You're going to cause a fight if you stay. And trust me, it won't be pretty."

"You've seen it?" I asked.

"Uh, sure." She said vaguely. She cleared her throat. "Go on, Jasper. Why don't you go for a hunt? You don't want to have a slip up."

I frowned at her but I knew better than to argue with her. Alice knows best. I ran through the trees, searching for some scent to ease the thirst. I kept running until I was pretty sure I was at the border of Canada. I caught the scent of bear and went after it.

I had just finished my second elk when I came across a different smell. Something much sweeter and way more appetizing. I went after it.

**EPOV**

Bella and Adam knocked on the door and Carlisle had gone to answer it. "I'm sorry, we're late." Adam said. "Bella had some last minute things to pack."

_Oh, Bella. Why must you keep doing this to yourself_? Adam's thoughts penetrated my head.

"That's quite alright." Esme said, going to hug Bella.

"What time is your flight?"

"We have at least forty five minutes here before Bella and I have to catch our flight. We leave at three forty-five."

_Why do they have to leave? Bella and Adam have been so good to us_, Esme was thinking, stroking Bella's hair.

"Bella, you know you're always welcome back. You don't have to stay away. You're family now." Carlisle said.

"Thank you, Carlisle. I appreciate that." She smiled at him. "I doubt will come back often but we can call and stay in touch that way."

"If that's what you want, Bella."

"Bella!" Emmett came through the door with Rosalie and went to Bella, picking her up and crushing her to his chest. I chuckled. If she were human, he probably would have broken her ribs.

"Emmy Bear, I may be indestructible but I think you'll end up finding a way to crack me in half." She teased.

Emmett laughed and put her down. Playing Emmett on his strength. That's a great way to get on his good side. "I'll take that as a compliment, little sis."

"Well, it wasn't but you can take it however you want."

His booming laughter filled the room. "So Adam. You gonna bag yourself one of the Denali women?"

Adam looked at him blankly while Rosalie promptly smacked Emmett in the back of the head. "Ow. What was that for?" He whined.

"Being an idiot. What else?"

He pouted and crossed his arms. Bella sat beside him and worked at freeing his hands.

"Emmett, that's a rather rude thing to say about our cousins." Esme said. "You act like they're items, waiting to be bought by the next vile creature."

I focused on Carlisle's thoughts, bored by the arguments going around. Carlisle was deep in thought about whether he should go to Alaska with Bella and Adam.

_Should I? Eleazar might need my help and I want to see Bella's power grow. I want to see exactly how it works. _He sighed. _Why did Jasper have to drag her away, right when everything was getting important? There's so much about her gift that fascinates me. _

Carlisle caught me looking. I raised an eyebrow. _Did you catch that? _

I nodded my head once.

_I suppose I'm being ridiculous, aren't I? _

"Just a bit." My voice was low enough that only he could hear it.

He sighed and nodded.

**BPOV**

I sat on the couch, my head in Esme's lap as they told stories about the family. Emmett was telling me a very particularly funny story about how him and Jasper were on the run from the police. They were in a high wired speed chase. Apparently Emmett was smuggling weapons from Mexio into the country and they got caught. Suffice to say, the car went _**caboom**_ and Jasper and Emmett were declared dead for driving of a cliff. No one found the bodies.

I couldn't stop laughing. It was just something they would do.

"How did Edward react?" Adam asked, laughing himself.

"He rivaled Carlisle with the lecture." Rosalie said.

"Why am I always the one people ask about?" Edward demanded, sitting down at the other end of the couch. I moved my feet out of the way and let him sit, then stretched out, resting my feet in his lap.

"Because you're a prune." Emmett said, laughing.

"Emmett, apologize to your brother." Esme admonished.

He cleared his throat and grumbled "Sorry" under his breath. "So, Bells, what did you think of our wicked chase scene?"

"I think it was brilliant." I laughed. "But weapons, Emmett? Really? You don't seem like someone who would smuggle weapons into the country."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Uh huh. You'd seem like someone who would smuggle sex toys."

There was silence from everyone in the room. I looked around, seeing their shocked expressions. Then everyone burst out laughing.

"The police wouldn't have stopped us if we were smuggling sex toys into the country." Emmett said, in between laughs.

"You don't know that." I said, mischievously.

"Bella," Rosalie said, laughing. "Did you do something involving sex toys and the police?"

"Uh, maybe?" I looked at Adam for help.

"Let's just say it wasn't Bella's fault." Adam said.

"Ah, come on, dude! I told you ours."

"Well, that was your choice." I said, laughing.

Emmett pouted, hoping I would budge. I didn't. I started laughing again when Alice, who hasn't said a word since we got there, gasped.

**APOV **(Alice)

I knew I was falling into a vision. The reactions were all the same. Rolling my eyes, I let it come.

_Jasper was hunting through the woods. He had gone all the way to Canada and came across a bear. He finished it off, barried it and went searching for something else. After his second elk, Jasper continued running until he caught a scent. A sweet, __appetizing__ scent. The smell of a human. _

_Jasper, unable to control his bloodlust, still half in his animalistic state, followed the scent. Finally he saw her. A young girl, no older than fifteen, was standing in the middle of a clearing, holding a small notebook. He inhaled and moaned, his throat burning for the blood. _

_He waited and as the girl got closer, he pounced, his teeth sinking into her thin membrane and drinking in the sweet, warm blood. _

I pulled out of the vision and gasped.

"Alice? What is it?" Carlisle asked.

"Jasper." Edward and I said together.

**BPOV**

"Jasper." Edward and Alice said together.

I froze and sat up, looking at her.

"Alice, what did you see?" Carlisle asked gently. "What is happening to Jasper?"

"He's going to drain a human."

Silence. "Where, Alice? When?"

"Less than seven minutes. About a mile away from the Canadian border."

I stood up and started running. I ran as fast and hard as I could to get there. I just hoped I wouldn't be too late.

**That's it. Sorry for the cliffy but it was suspenceful and that's what keeps the reader interested. Or really annoyed. Either way, review and tell me what you think. **

**Jezebel**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

I ran.

I ran as hard and as fast as I could. Following his trail, I searched for Jasper.

Finally, I caught his scent. It got stronger and started to intermingle with a human. I stopped in a clearing where I saw them.

It was too late.

I walked to Jasper slowly, letting him now I was there without startling him. It was at that moment that everyone else showed up.

I crouched in front of Jasper and studied the girl. She was still alive. He must have just sunk his teeth into her neck.

"Jasper," I said gently. "Honey, you need to look at me."

His gaze moved to me as he drank.

"You don't want to do this, Jasper. You don't want to drain this girl."

His teeth sunk more into the soft flesh.

I held my breath as trickles of blood slid down her slender neck. "Jasper, I know her blood smells sweet but you don't want to do this. You don't want the monster to win. You don't want to feel the guilt and pain over this."

I could feel everyone getting agitated behind me.

"Jasper," I started, "you need to remember she has a family. She has people who love her. Parents, friends, brothers or sisters. You don't want to take her away from that. Not the way you were taken from me.

"All you have to do is let go."

Jasper pulled away and the girl collasped under him. Quickly, I picked up the girl. "Adam!" I called.

He darted to my side and took the girl from me.

"How is she?" Esme asked.

"She's alive." Adam said. "But barely. She's lost a lot of blood. We need to get her to the hospital."

"Venom?" Carlisle asked.

"No."

"Oh, thank God." Esme sighed in relief.

I focused on Jasper. His shirt was ripped, probably from the girl, who tried to fight him off. There was blood on his chin. Most disturbing was the crimson red eyes. I wiped his chin like a mother cleaning her child.

Jasper stared at me in horror. "Oh, God." He whispered. "I'm a monster."

"No, Jasper." I drew him into my arms and held him close. "You are not a monster. You are a man that has had a painful beginning. It's logical to want to feed off your natural food source. We're vampires. It would be strange if we didn't." Adam snorted at that but I ignored him. "Jasper, you are so much stronger than you think you are. You did something that most would find incredible hard. You _pulled away_. You stopped before her death, or worse, subjected to eternal misery."

He bured his face in my chest, wrapping his arms tightly around my waist and pulling me even closer. I stroked his honey blond hair, running my fingers through the soft curls. "The monster within you didn't win, Jasper. You are so much stronger than you give yourself credit for. You feel guilt and self-hatred for what you did but I am so proud of you. Not even I had that must self-control to pull away once I tasted the sweet blood."

I rested my chin on his head. "I love you, Jasper. I think you'll do great things."

"Bella," Adam called softly.

I looked at him. He pointed at his watch. We had to go. Gently, I pulled myself away. He didn't let go. "I have to go, Jasper." I whispered. "You have to let me go."

I broke free and stood up.

"No." he croaked. "Don't go. Please, don't go." He grabbed my legs and held on.

I crouched down in front of him and lifted his chin up so I was looking into his red eyes. "Jasper, you don't need me anymore. You need to let me go and move on. Forget that I came back. Go back to the way you were living before."

He shook his head like a misbehaving child. "No, stay. Please, Bella, I need you. I can't forget you. I don't want to. I'm sorry, please forgive me." He begged.

Is it possible for a vampire to go crazy?

As much as I wanted to stay and believe in his pleas, I knew that when he snapped out of whatever state he was in, he would go back to behaving the way he always have. And that was a fate that I was not prepared to deal with.

"I'm sorry, Jasper. I can't stay. It's not fair. We both deserve our happiness, and you have already found that. It's my turn." I kissed his forehead, pressing my lips gently against his skin a little longer than was necessary. "I'll always love you, Jasper. But it's time to forget the past. It brings nothing but heartache." I pulled back and looked into his eyes one more time. "You will always be the man that I love. Nothing will ever change that."

**JPOV**

"_You will always be the man that I love. Nothing will ever change that_."

She turned her back and left.

My body still hummed from the electricity but it was slowly diminishing until all I felt was numb.

Around me I could feel the emotions of the family. Awe. Surprise. Amazement. Disbelief. Elation. Pride. Love. Large amounts of love was radiating off of Esme. Then there was the others.

Disappointment. Guilt. Jealousy.

It shouldn't have been such a surprise that they were disappointed in me. It was to be expected that they were disappointed. I've screwed up again. I'm a disappointment to myself.

"Jasper, we're not disappointed in you." Edward said, standing in front of me. Where did he come from?

"If not me than what?" I asked.

"We're disappointed that Bella left. You would think this is something she would stay for. But I could understand why she would want to leave."

I didn't have any desire to listen to him explain. I just wanted Bella back. Had I made a mistake? Was picking Alice the wrong thing to do? And why was Bella the one to comfort me? So many questions went through my head as I looked over at Alice.

She was standing away from the family, staring off at something no one else could possibly see. Except Edward. And even he couldn't penetrate her mind when she wanted to keep him out.

Alice looked at me and walked to me slowly. She stopped in front of me and looked down at me with pity and disappointment. I flinched away from it.

So much for Edward's idea.

"Jasper, I'm sorry I didn't see it happen sooner. I could have stopped you before this could happen."

Why did her voice sound so distant?

"It's not your fault, Alice." I said. As I reached up to touch her hand, just to feel the closeness of another, she took a step back. A pang of hurt tugged at me and I looked at her. "What's wrong, Alice?"

"Nothing, Jasper. But you're covered in dirt and blood and I just bought this outfit."

I blinked at her. She was more worried about her outfit than my sanity? What happened to my Alice?

"Oh."

"Jasper, dear." Esme crouched beside me and wrapped her arms around my shoulder. "Why don't we head back to the house? You can wash up and get out of these clothes."

I nodded my head in agreement and stood up.

~*~

After my shower, Esme took my clothes away and burned them. They were stained with blood and ripped to shreds.

I was lying on my bed, staring out the window and wishing Bella was here to hold me. I yearned to feel her body against mine again, to feel her smooth skin against me.

It was while I was having these thoughts that I really began to notice the change in Alice. She was subtly pulling away from me and this was even before Bella came back into my life. Something had changed and she was no longer the Alice that I loved.

What happened? I frowned deep in thought.

**EPOV**

I headed up to Carlisle's office and knocked on the door.

"Come in, Edward." he called.

I walked inside and closed the door behind me. "What can I do for you, son?" he asked, looking up from the medical book he had open on his desk.

"I need to talk to you about something."

Sensing my urgency, he closed the book. _Where's the rest of the family? _

"Hunting. But Jasper's here. He's in his room."

Carlisle nodded and waved at me to proceed.

I sat in one of the leather armchairs across from him. "Carlisle, have you noticed something different about Alice?"

He frowned. "I take it you've noticed too?"

I nodded. "She's been keeping me out a lot lately. And to be honest, I'm a little worried. Jasper's mental state isn't in the best place right now and Alice isn't even here to help him sort through it. Today was the first day in a while since I've seen anything. It's worrying me."

"Me too, Edward. But there isn't much we can really do."

"I agree." I sighed and rubbed my temples. "But we can't just do nothing. Even Jasper is starting to notice and now that Bella is gone, he's going to pay more attention to Alice, looking for console. He's going to notice right away that something is wrong."

Carlisle was thoughtful for a minute. "Should we have told Jasper where Bella went?"

"No. It's what Bella wants and I don't think she'd appreciate it if Jasper shows up suddenly."

He chuckled. "That's very true." He grew somber. "We're just going to have to watch Alice. There isn't much else we _can_ do. If things start to change, than we'll just have to talk to her about it."

I nodded my head in agreement. "I'm going to check on Jasper." I stood up and headed towards his room.

**Well, that's it. *Bites nails* I'm actually worried about you will all think about Bella leaving Jasper in the condition that he's in. Let me now what you think. **

**Please Review **


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you to everyone who reviwed the last chapter. This chapter has a couple of flashbacks of Jasper and Bella during their human life. It should give some understanding of what they were like before their change.**

**Anyway, Enjoy the next chapter. **

Chapter 11

**Unknown POV**

I sat in the chair, waiting to hear back from my spy. He was taking too much time. I was getting quite annoyed. I suppose this is what I get for relying on a human.

I have been patiently (or impatiently, depending on how you look at it) awaiting news of Bella Swan for over four decades and still, I haven't heard anything.

How could she have just disappeared like that?

Finally, there was a knock on the door. "Enter."

The boy came in, flinching away from my stare while staring at the floor. "Master, I have news. Resources have concluded that Bella Swan is in Fork, Washington. She, along with her doctor friend have settled there."

This news pleased me greatly. "Forks, you say? Excellent. Book two tickets. I want to leave as soon as possible."

**BPOV**

It was times like this I wished I were able to sleep.

Leaving Jasper in that clearing, with him begging me to stay with him… it was so hard. I didn't want to remember seeing the heartbroken look on his face when I turned my back and just left him.

_Alice_ should have been the one to comfort him. She should have gone to him as soon as she retold the vision. I may not have known Alice very well but there was something odd about the way she behaved. It's almost as though she didn't care what happened to Jasper. How could she be so heartless to someone who is obviously in so much pain?

I shook my head. _Forget about them, Bella_, I scolded myself_. This really isn't helping_.

As much as I tried to forget, I honestly couldn't. In all the years that Jasper and I have known each other, I was always the one that comforted him when no one else could. I guess the same instinct that made me comfort him as a human transferred when I was changed into a vampire.

Or maybe, it's just Jasper.

Maybe I shouldn't try to forget Jasper. If it hasn't worked in the past 144 years that I've been a vampire, than it won't work now.

I looked over at Adam. He was relaxed and had his eyes closed. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought he was sleeping.

I slid comfortably into the seat and stared out the window, loosing myself in memoies of Jasper and me.

**Flashback**

_I looked around the house with a small frown. I couldn't help it. It was just so tiny. _

"_Don't pout, Isabella. It may be small but it's…" Papa struggled for the right word. "Homey." _

"_Why did we move here, Papa? Why couldn't we stay in South Carolina?" _

"_We needed this, Isabella. We can start fresh without being disgraced for the rumours." He explained, pulling me into his lap. "Besides, it isn't that different than home." _

_I giggled. "Silly Papa. Texas is so much… drier." _

"_Oh, sweet Isabella. What am I going to do with you?" _

"_Sell me away to be a slave?" I asked, peering up at him. _

"_Of course not. No matter what is happening in the south, I do not condone the use of slavery." _

"_Why are the people in north so against slavery?" _

"_Oh, dear daughter. You're so curious, aren't you little one?" Papa asked, shaking his head with a laugh. "That behaviour will never get you a husband." _

"_Good." I said, hopping off his lap. "Boys are icky and I'm only eight." _

"_You'll feel differently in a few years, Isabella." _

"_I don't think so." _

_Papa's laughter filled the room as I walked to the chair and picked up my doll. _

_** _

_I walked down the street in the pretty white dress that Papa bought for me. He saved up all he had to get it for me for my birthday. _

_I was walking across the edge of the curb, my arms stretched out as I moved carefully, one foot in front of the other. It was something Papa told me I should do in order to fix my balance problem. I was too clumsy for my own good. I didn't even raise my head from my feet, which wasn't a smart idea. _

_Just as I got to the end of the street, I tripped over something. I didn't know what it was but that's not surprising. I tend to trip over my own feet more often than anything else. _

_Instead of falling backwards onto the grass, I fell forward. There were little shards of glass across the road and I grazed the palms of my hands on the gravel while the glass wedged into my knees. A firey pain went through me and I cried out, turning over so I was sitting down. Blood oozed out of the cut but I was afraid to pull the glass out. Knowing my luck, I'd probably end up digging it in deeper. _

_Looking up and down the street, I realized there was no one there. Was I seriously going to have to walk home like this? Papa was not going to be happy. Especially when he sees what happened to my dress. _

_I struggled to stand up and before I could even take a step, I slipped forward. I prepared myself for the fall, squeezing my eyes shut tight. But I never felt the fall. _

_A hand grabbed my arm and yanked me upright. I opened my eyes to see a boy with honey blond hair and grey eyes, staring down at me. _

"_You okay?" he asked, letting go of my arm. _

_I shook my head. "I hurt my leg." I pouted _

"_Let me see it." _

_I stared at him suspiciously. Why was the boy so interested in the cut on my leg? _

_He rolled his eyes. "If you don't want my help," he moved away and started walking, "that's fine." _

_I attempted to follow but stopped before anything could happen. It was safer if he helped. _

"_Wait!" _

_He turned back with a smug smile on his face. _

"_Will you please help me?" _

_He smiled. "My pleasure." _

_The boy lead me down the road and toward a house I didn't recognize. It must have been his house. "Wait here. I'll be back." _

_I sat on the bottom step and frowned at the state my dress was in. It was ripped with splotches of red from the blood and dirt. _

_A noise behind me alerted me to a visitor. I cocked my head to the side and looked at him. He had a bowl of water and a wash cloth. He sat down beside me and began pulling the glass out. I jerked away. _

"_Stay still." He said. _

_I sighed and watched him as he pulled the glass out. I couldn't look at the blood. The smell alone was making me woozy. _

_I'm not sure how long it took to clean my wounds. I was distracted by the wind blowing in the boy's honey hair. _

"_All done." He said. _

_I looked down. A white bandage was wrapped around my knee. "Thank you." _

"_My pleasure, ma'am." He smiled, two of his teeth missing. "I'm JasperWhitlock." _

_Before I could introduce myself, a woman, who I figured must have been his mother, came outside. "Jasper, who's this?" _

"_Isabella Swan, ma'am. I prefer Bella but Papa said it isn't lady like." I said sweetly. "My papa and I just moved here from South Carolina." _

"_Is that so?" she asked with a smile. "Well, how about you invite your papa over for supper tomorrow night. Get to know you." _

"_Yes, ma'am. I'm sure Papa would appreciate that. Papa and I don't have many friends." I admitted, looking down at my hands. _

"_Well, that's going to change. We just haven't had time to get to know you." Mrs. Whitlock smiled at me. "You ought to be getting home before your papa starts getting worried." _

"_Yes, ma'am. Papa's probably already worried." _

"_Jasper, you help her. I don't think she can walk alone on that knee." _

"_Yes, Mama." Jasper said. He slipped his arm around my waist and led me home._

"_Isabella?" Papa called as we got closer. He sounded frantic. "Isabella, what happened to you? Do you have any idea how worried I've been?" he demanded, when he saw us._

"_I'm sorry, Papa. I hurt myself down the street." _

"_Are you alright?" _

_I nodded my head. It was at that moment that Jasper dropped his arm and Papa noticed him for the first time. "Who are you?" he asked suspiciously. _

"_Jasper Whitlock, sir. I helped her when I found her." he said, staring Papa straight in the eye, rather boldly. _

_There was silence before Papa nodded and broke into a smile. "Thank you. Isabella has two left feet, it seems." He chuckled._

_I blushed. "Papa!" _

_Jasper laughed with Papa. "Pardon, sir, but my mama invited you and your daughter to our house for supper tomorrow night." _

"_Tomorrow, eh? What time?" _

"_Seven, sir." _

"_Tell your mama we accept." _

"_Yes, sir." Jasper turned away, smiling. "Good night, Bella." He winked. _

"_Good night Jasper." _

**End of Flashback**

I sighed and looked over at Adam.

**APOV **(Alice)

I can't believe he's having second thoughts. What changed his mind? Why is he behaving this way?

Thoughts of Jasper ran through my mind at alarming speed. It was a good thing that Edward wasn't here or he'd be more suspicious than he already is. I wasn't being very convincing that everything is normal.

The errant thought annoyed me. How is it that bitch managed to undermind me? It wasn't supposed to happen! Jasper is _mine_!

I'm just going to have to keep an extra eye on him, I reasoned, pacing.

Those years before the Cullens, when it was just me and Jasper, were so much easier. Jasper wasn't so reluctant and it so much easier to get him to do what I wanted.

I sighed out in annoyance. Bella was an inconvience. If I had known she was coming, I would have gotten Jasper out before the truth was revealed and she told him who she was. But that stupid shield blocked me.

Grrr!

I have to fix this.

But how?

**Unkown POV**

"What do you mean she's gone!" I yelled.

The pathetic boy cringed away, his head down. "We've searched for her, master. But she's just disappeared."

"Do you know where?"

The boy didn't answer.

"Speak, boy!"

"No," he cried. "No one seems to know where she's gone."

"I'm disappointed. And you know what happens when I'm disappointed."

"No, please. Please, don't, I'll do better I swear, please, just give me a chance." He rambled on.

I was getting bored of this. "Unless you tell me where Isabella Swan is, you will take your punishment without question."

"She's in Alaska." A new voice chirped.

I turned to look. Standing in a tree was a tiny girl. She smelled vampire but she had gold eyes. "What do you know about Isabella Swan?"

"Oh, I know lots about her. None of its good." she said. "She's been quite a nuisance."

"You know where she is?" I asked cautiously.

"Oh, yes. I already told you. She's in Alaska."

I didn't detect a lie. "Who are you?" I demanded.

"Alice."

**Okay, that's it. I hope you liked it. I realized that every other chapter seems to have a cliffy but hey, it's fun for me and keeps it interesting. This chapter was originally going to be out yesterday but it was my birthday and I didn't have time to finish writing it. **

**Anyway, please Review. It encourages me to write. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Thanks to all the reviews. It amazes me how many people put Never Again as their favs and story alert. It makes me feel so loved. **

**So, I'm looking for a beta. If anyone's interested, PM me and let me know. **

**Now on with the chapter **

Chapter 12

**JOV **

Edward left me alone after our talk.

I knew after everything he said, he was right about what happened. It was my own fault that Bella was gone and I knew nothing about her. Why did I have to be such a jackass when all she wanted was to get to know me again? I didn't even give her the chance. The thought of never seeing her again was painful.

Why was I so pathetic? I didn't deserve her.

I put my hands behind my head and stared up at the ceiling, my mind drifting to the conversation that Edward and I had.

~*~

Edward knocked on the door.

_Go away_.

The door opened and Edward walked inside, closing it behind him. I turned and glared at him. "I didn't tell you you could come in."

"Yeah, well, get over it. We need to talk."

_About what?_

"Bella, what else?"

_I don't want to talk about Bella. Especially not with you. _

"Well that's too bad. Because we need to talk about her." he leaned against the wall, crossing his arms.

When did Edward start speaking so bluntly?

He snorted.

"Did you know that while Bella was… coaxing you away from the human,"—I flinched, which he ignored—"her shield dropped?"

I stared at him in confusion. "Her shield dropped?"

"It was a totally subconscious move on her part; I doubt she even knows she did it. But do you want to know what she was thinking about?"

_Not really. _

Again, he ignored me. "She was thinking about you. She was silently begging you to stop drinking. She didn't want to see you beating yourself up for the slip-up. her mind is so pure and full of honest to god, love for you."

I didn't know what to say. Every part of me locked down in surprise.

"I'm sure that if you weren't so focused on the human, you would have felt her emotions. I'll even bet that part of the reason you stopped was because her emotions were seeping into you."

"I-I didn't feel anything." I admitted. "All I could feel is the fear. From the human girl."

"You may not have realized that but your body did. And when something that intense seeps into you, you notice, whether it was consciously or not." Edward walked towards the bed. "You don't realize how much she loves you, Jasper. You were a total idiot. Even without having to read her mind, I know her heart is so true. You avoided her at all costs and I don't have to be a mind reader to know how much that hurt her. You didn't give her the chance. It's not a surprise that she left."

"What is that supposed to mean? She left because of me?"

"Well, _duh_! When did you become so dense? Honestly, Jasper. Really? God you're an even bigger idiot than I thought."

It felt strange to hear Edward insulting me. He was always so serious. Sometimes he was so much like Carlisle it was scary. I don't think I've ever seen him act like a seventeen year old.

"Would you stop thinking about me when your life is god knows where, when she should be here, comforting you? Don't you find that the least bit odd?

Yes. I did. But Alice is Alice and there isn't anything I can do to change that.

"Do you even want Alice to be here?"

The million dollar question, it seemed. My mind has been all over the place. I don't know what I want anymore.

"Do you want to know the last thing Bella was thinking before her shield went back up?" Edward asked.

_Not really, but I get the feeling you're going to tell me anyway_.

"She wanted to believe you, when you said you wanted her to stay. But she figured that once you snapped out of the state you were in, you would go back to the way you treated her before. She didn't want to deal with that again. Bella deserves more."

"Don't tell me what Bella deserves." I snarled.

Edward stared at me, then shook his head. "You and Alice have been acting so strange lately."

"Can-can you tell me where Bella is?"

"No, Jasper. I can't. If Bella wants to tell you or talk to you, she'll call."

"I don't know if I can wait." I whispered.

I sounded like a whimp but I honestly couldn't care less. Edward softened. "Jasper, you two need time away from each other. This has been a very uncomfortable reunion for both of you."

Time away. Ha. That's funny. We've had a hundred and forty-five years away from each other. Now that I know she's alive, can I really forget about her?

"I doubt it."

I growled at him. _Stay out of my head, Eddie._

"Well, I think I've done my job. Good luck trying to figure it out." Edward turned his back and walked out of the room.

~*~

Stupid know-it-all Edward. Why did he have to make everything so damn difficult.

I needed to get out of the house. I needed to go… somewhere.

Jumping out of the bed, I ran down the stairs. Emmett was playing the new Wii system that he got while Esme flit around the room, dusting. She paused and looked at me. "Where are you heading off to, Jasper?"

"I'm just going to go for a run." I said.

"Probably thinking about how much he screwed up with Bella." Emmett said.

Esme smacked him upside the head.

"Ow! What is it with you women and smacking me? What good does it bring?"

Another smack. This time from Rosalie.

"Don't say 'you women'. It's degrading."

"Yes, Rosie." Emmett drew her close and planted a sloppy kiss on her. Rose squealed and the lust radiating off the two made me glad I was leaving.

Esme came to me, ignoring them. I tasted her emotions. Love and concern. I hated how much I made her worry. "Please be careful, Jasper. I know you're confused right now but the answer will come. You just have to be patient."

I smiled at her weakly. "Thanks Mom."

She smiled hugely and I felt her pride. I kissed her cheek and ran out the door.

I paid no attention to where I was running. All I knew was that I needed to be free and forget. I needed something to distract me.

**APOV**

"We both have something against Isabella Swan." I said.

"Do we? And what is it that you have against her?"

"Simple. She tried to steal my husband from me." I answered. "And there is no way I'm going to let that little bitch outsmart me. I'd rather see her dead then in my husband's arms again."

"Well, that's all I needed to hear."

I nodded. "There is only a small problem. While she is in Alaska, she is surrounded by rather strong vampires."

"Any of them gifted?"

"Just one." I explained the gift that Kate had. "Although, she needs physical contact for her gift to do any good."

"So it should be easy."

"Not necessarily. They are friends of Carlisle's. If they believe that she is in danger, they _will_ fight for her. There is no denying that fact."

"But we have the element of surprise."

"No." I said. "We don't. Because of that stupid shield, I can't see anything about Bella or the Denali, seeing how they're all intermingled with her."

Master sighed in annoyance. "But how will they know we are coming?"

"Edward. He already believes there is something different about me. If he thinks things get any more suspicious, he's going to warn her. Edward is very… taken with her. He would do anything to protect her."

"Hmm. That does pose as an issue." Master paused. "Though there is a way into tricking him into believing that nothing has changed."

"How?" I demanded. I've tried everything I could to convince them that things were normal. But you can't hide things from Edward. Eventually you slip and he'll see it.

"Simple. You behaved the way you did because of Isabella. When your mate is being threatened, you start behaving differently in order to protect them."

That was, of course, very true and I couldn't believe I hadn't thought about it myself. I huffed out in annoyance.

"Now, you must leave before anyone else becomes too suspicious."

"I probably should go and see how Jasper is." I mused. "We will meet back here at midnight the night of the full moon. I'll let you know how things are then."

"Good."

I turned my back and ran to the house. I slowed to a walk as I approached the big white house. I could sense four vampires in the house.

"Alice is back." I heard Edward say.

"It's about time." Rosalie growled. "She should be taking care of Jasper, not prancing around outside doing who knows what."

"Rosalie, she may have gone hunting." Esme said in her maternal voice. "Perhaps she needed time to adjust."

I walked through the door and into the living room. "Hello, dear." Esme said.

"Where's Jasper?" I asked innocently.

"He went for a run."

"When?"

They all looked at each other. "A couple of hours ago. He should be back any minute."

I searched for Jasper's future. "Oh. He should be back in seven minutes." I danced towards the computer. "I think I'll do some online shopping until he gets here."

I knew they were all paying some attention to me. so I let my head wander until it was frivolous and more myself.

When Jasper came inside, covered in dirt, I frowned. "What happened to you, Jasper?" I asked, pouting.

"I went for a run, Alice." He said without looking at me. "I'm going to go and take a shower."

Uh oh. This is worse than I thought. I followed him up the stairs and into our room. "Jazzy, I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to run from you."

"It's okay, Alice. I'm used to it."

Ouch, that's harsh. I went to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Do you think you can forgive me, Jazzy?"

He didn't answer me. The silence dragged on longer than I would have hoped. Then he said the words I knew were coming.

"I forgive you Alice."

I walked around so I was facing him and leaned up to kiss him. He wasn't quite as responsive but the more I pushed, the more the dominant part of him started to surface and he fought back.

His lips trailed down my neck and sucked on the skin while his hands moved to push the shirt up and over my head.

**Okay, that's all. Yes, Alice is different and evil. But in some of the FF stories that I've read, she's too nice. It's a love/hate situation for me. Tell me what you think. Review Please! **


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed and put N.A. on story alert or their favs. Here's the next chapter. Sorry it's a little late than usual. School and University tours got in the way. Anyway, enjoy. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

Chapter 13

**APOV **(Adam)

For a week I've watched Bella work on her shield with Eleazar and Kate.

And during that week, I've been painfully shocked by Kate in an attempt to get Bella to project her shield. It was useless. Bella was too distracted.

After her fifth attempt, I called quits. "Okay! I think I'm done." I announced.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Bella apologized profusely.

"It's okay, Bella, seriously." I assured her.

"I think tomorrow we should have a break. I'm sure Bella needs to hunt and we can all use a day to relax."

"That would be great." I said, more enthusiastically than I probably should have been.

Kate chuckled and shook her head. Bella just elbowed me in the ribs. Had I been human, it would have cracked a rib.

"Way to be insensitive, Adam."

"I'm sorry, Bella." I apologized. "But really! You've been killing me the past week. There's only so much I can take."

She dropped her eyes. "I'm sorry." She sighed. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Bells, honey, I think you should call the Cullens. You did promise Carlisle that you would keep him updated on what happens."

"You're right." she said grudgingly. "I'll go now."

Eleazar had already left, probably going to find Carmen. Bella picked her cell phone up from the table and left me alone with Kate.

"Where are your sisters?" I asked.

"Hunting." She said. "Ever since Bella insulted them, they tend to stay away from her."

I laughed and shook my head. "It wasn't her fault. She was in a bad mood to begin with. And they antagonized her."

"No need to tell me." she said with a smile.

"Would you like to come on a hunt with me?" I asked.

Her smile grew. "I'd love to."

We ran out of the house and through the woods. We separated while we hunted. I had just finished off my third buck when I felt someone watching me.

"See something you like?"

Kate laughed. "You can say that." Her golden eyes twinkled with amusement. "So tell me about yourself, Adam."

"Can I at least finish cleaning up?" I asked.

She sighed dramatically. "I suppose."

I buried the carcass and went up to the branch Kate was sitting in. "So, how did you meet Bella?" she asked.

"She saved my life." I told her my story. It was complicated and painful. "She stayed with me all that time. She didn't have to but she didn't want me to be alone, the same way Bella was when she was awakened. She taught me everything. Told me what I was." I explained.

"What about your human life?" she asked.

I flinched. This was something that I didn't even tell Bella about. I knew it was wrong of me not to tell her but I didn't want her to feel guilty. Bella saved my life. Kate noticed the hesitation but at least she didn't comment on it.

"I was married. We just had a little girl. Everything was going perfect, except for those unexplainable deaths." I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration. "It was our first anniversary that night. I was on my way home from the hospital when I saw Bella. I wanted to warn her not to go into the forest but I couldn't seem to catch up."

Kate didn't say anything while I fought to work down the grief.

"I'm sorry, Adam."

I sighed and looked up at the darkening sky. "It isn't your fault. It's not even Bella's fault. What I did was stupid and I have to pay the consequences every day."

"Does Bella know about this?"

"No. But she knows that something's up. Every year on the anniversary of my wife's death, I go to England and talk to her." That sounded pathetic to admit. "Bella knows that something's wrong but she never comments. She lets me go, knowing that I always end up coming back."

"I'm not surprised. You two have been together for so long. She must know by now that there is something going on. She just doesn't ask because she knows you're not ready to share it."

I chuckled softly. "You're the first person that I shared that to." I glanced over at her, smiling softly. "Thank you, Kate."

"I'm happy to help."

"In more ways than one it seems." I teased.

She snorted. "Say what you want. You know you love me."

"So Succubi, is there anything else you can do besides the little zapping power of yours?"

Her eyes flashed with amusement and she smiled, showing her teeth. "You really want to know?"

"Am I not asking?"

"Hmm."

She lunged at me just as I dropped from the branch. "A little slow, if you ask me." I said, leaning against the closest tree.

"Is that a challenge?"

I laughed. "Maybe." I turned away. "That's up to you."

I heard Kate as she landed and started chasing after me.

**BPOV**

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." I apologized. God, this was so much harder than I expected. I'm surprised Adam hasn't strangled me yet.

"It's okay, Bella, seriously." He assured me.

"I think tomorrow we should have a break. I'm sure Bella needs to hunt and we can all use a day to relax."

"That would be great." Adam said, more enthusiastically than he probably should have been.

Kate chuckled and shook her head. I just elbowed him in the ribs, pouting.

"Way to be insensitive, Adam."

"I'm sorry, Bella." He apologized. "But really! You've been killing me the past week. There's only so much I can take."

I dropped her eyes. "I'm sorry." I sighed in frustration. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Bells, honey, I think you should call the Cullens. You did promise Carlisle that you would keep him updated on what happens."

"You're right." I said grudgingly. "I'll go now."

I picked up my cell phone and went inside. I curled up on the love seat and stared out the window for a couple of minutes. I honestly couldn't understand why this was working. My frustration was growing by the minute and I knew soon enough Adam wouldn't want to be the guinea pig.

Finally, I looked at my phone. Just as I was about to open it and start dialling, it started ringing.

Bemused, I picked it up. "Hello?"

"_Bella, it's Carlisle." _

"Carlisle?" I laughed. "I was just about to call you."

"_Really? Well that's good. How is your training going?" _

I felt deflated at once. "Not good." I admitted. "Really bad," I amended when I heard him clear his throat. "I just can't seem to get it. Adam is going to strangle me soon."

He chuckled. _"I doubt it's that bad."_

"No, it really is. Ask Adam. I haven't been able to protect him once at all this week."

There was silence on his end. "Carlisle?" I asked tentatively.

"_Yes?" _

"Oh. I thought you hung up." I stretched out on the love seat, my feet sticking out the other side. "What's going on through that head of yours?"

"_Well, what exactly have you been doing? You need to concentrate on your shield, correct?" _

"Yes." I answered, wondering where this was going.

"_What have you been feeling each time you try to shield him?" _

"Frustration, mostly." I grumbled.

"_Besides that." _

"Uh, nothing, now that I think about it. I'm always focusing on protecting Adam that I don't focus on anything else."

"_Hmm."_ He paused and I could picture him rubbing his chin. _"Maybe it works on intense emotions." _

"What are you talking about?"

"_Do you remember your last day in Forks?"_ he asked. _"The day that Jasper had his slip up?" _

No. I don't want to think about that. "Yes."

"_Whatever you were feeling when you were coaxing Jasper away from the human allowed your shield to stretch enough so that Edward was able to read your mind." _Carlisle explained.

I stiffened. "Edward read my mind?"

"_It was only for a couple of minutes, but yes. He did." _

"But I don't even remember what I was feeling."

"_Than think about Jasper." _

"Why would thinking about Jasper make my shield stretch?" Is it possible for vampires to go crazy because I think he just did?

"_Think about it, Bella. When you think about Jasper, what emotions come to you?" _

I did as the doctor suggested. Anger. Betrayal. Loss. Pain. Fear. Resentment. Disappointment. Unworthy.

"Too many negative emotions." I whispered, holding the phone so tight in my hand I worried if it would snap.

"_Bella, whatever you think, you are worthy."_ Carlisle's voice was soft and reassuring.

"It doesn't feel that way."

"_You can't keep using Jasper as a reason for your unhappiness anymore, Bella. It's unhealthy. You deserve to have your life back." _

I was shocked at him. I don't think I've ever heard him say something like that to me. But still, it didn't matter.

"Thanks, Carlisle. I'll let you know how it goes."

I hung up before he had the chance to answer. I needed to hunt. Going out through the back door, I heard Adam and Kate come in through the front.

I started running and kept running, until I didn't recognize where I was. I just needed space.

**Well, I hope you enjoyed. Hope you liked Adam's POV. Thought I'd put that in there so you got a little bit more of an understanding about him. Let me know what you thought and review! :) **

**By the way, I'm still looking for a beta, so if anyone's interested, PM me and let me know. Thanks**

**--Kristy **


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N Well, here's the new chapter. Sorry it's late. I've been busy with school. Major thanks to my beta cheshirekat516 for going over the chapter. **

Chapter 14

**JPOV**

Alice. There is something very different about Alice. She is being too clingy and that in itself is weird.

After the conversation I overheard between Carlisle and Edward, I've begun noticing things about her that I never realized before. Her emotions have been very strange. It's like she's been trying to hide something from me.

The question is: What?

With a sigh, I ignored the mental babble and crouched down, watching a bobcat pounce on its next meal. Too little too late did it realize it wasn't going to last much longer.

The blood was warm and soothed the burn enough that it didn't bother me. Filled enough that I could feel the blood sloshing in me, I headed back to the house, only to catch scent of Alice.

I followed the scent far away from the house and towards a little cottage that Esme kept on the grounds. I peeked inside and heard the distinct moan coming from the back bedroom.

Frowning, I made my way to the back and found Alice.

She wasn't alone and clothes were spewed all over the floor. "Alice?"

"Oh shit!"

**APOV**

He moved hard and fast over top of me. It felt like heaven.

"Alice?"

I glared over at the door and saw Jasper, shock and something else written on his face. "Oh, shit."

I stumbled out of bed, grabbing the sheet with me. Seemed like something stupid to do since Jasper knows what I look like naked but now didn't seem like the appropriate time to be showing off.

I watched as Taylor grabbed his clothes and put them on before standing up.

"Alice, what the hell is going on?"

I blinked at him. Was he serious? It should have been obvious.

Why wasn't I more worried about this? I laughed silently to myself. Because Jasper isn't going to do anything. He doesn't have the strength to leave.

"I'm sorry, Jasper." I apologized.

"Liar."

I stared at him in shock. Jasper has never done anything like this before. What changed?

"How long has this been going on, Alice?" he demanded, his voice hard and angry.

I thought about it, which only angered him more. "A couple of years." I answered honestly. He caught me so there's no point in denying him the truth. Besides, he'd know I was lying.

"A couple of years?" he repeated.

I could feel the anger he was projecting. This couldn't be good.

"How many years?"

"Uh… about ten."

Jasper went completely still. I quickly searched the future to see the outcome of this, only to see nothing. Dame it, what the hell is wrong?

He didn't say anything else. Instead, he turned his back and ran. I didn't bother to go after him. He's probably just gone back to the house to lick his wounds. He'll forgive me. He always does.

I turned to look at Taylor and smiled suggestively. "What do you say we finish what we started?"

Taylor smiled and pulled me into his arms, wrapping his arms around my waist.

~*~

As I headed towards the house, I could feel the emotional turmoil going on. I made my way inside to find Carlisle and Esme sitting on the love seat, curled up together. Esme was dry sobbing on Carlisle's shoulder. Edward was standing by the window, his face expressionless while Rosalie sat in Emmett's lap, looking, surprisingly, worried.

"What's wrong?" I asked innocently. "Where's Jasper?"

I made sure to keep my thoughts away from what happened at the cottage in order to keep Edward out of my head.

"He's gone." Edward said flatly.

I stilled. "Gone? Gone where?"

"He didn't say." Carlisle said, rubbing Esme's back soothingly. "He just ran up to his room, grabbed a bag and left."

"He didn't even say he was leaving?" This upset me.

Rosalie was paying too much attention. "Why don't you look more upset?" she asked suspiciously.

"Of course I'm upset! My husband just left and no one knows where he's gone!" I whined.

Edward didn't say anything but I knew him well enough to know he knew something.

"No, Alice I don't know where he's gone."

"Surely you must have heard something!"

"Not really." Edward admitted. "His thoughts were kind of jumbled. I couldn't really understand them."

"Maybe Jasper went to find Bella." Emmett said suddenly.

Five pairs of eyes flickered to him.

"What makes you say that, Emmett?" Carlisle asked, though I knew he was considering that possibility.

"I dunno. It's just an assumption."

Again, we all stared at him. He sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. "Whatever's wrong with Jasper, he'd go to the last person any of us would expect. He'd go to Bella."

"But that doesn't make sense. He doesn't even know where she is."

"He probably won't stop looking for her until he finds her." Edward said through clenched teeth.

"Has anyone tried to call him?" I asked tentatively.

"He must have smashed his phone. I don't think he wants anyone to find him until he finds what he's looking for himself." Carlisle said.

"I think we should call Eleazar and have him be on the lookout. At least then we'll know if he's safe." Esme said, her fists hanging on to Carlisle's shirt.

Edward and Carlisle exchanged looks. "I'll go and call him." Carlisle said after Edward nodded at him.

Carlisle and Esme headed up to the study while everyone else sat in the living room, lost in their own thoughts.

**BPOV**

There was something going on between Adam and Kate.

Adam refused to admit it but he couldn't hide anything from me. "C'mon, Adam. Who am I going to tell? So what if you have a thing for Kate?"

"Bella, I do not have a _thing_ for Kate!"

"Fine." I pouted. "Do you want to have a thing for Kate?"

"Bella!"

"All right, all right. I'll stop."

"Thank you." he huffed.

I giggled. Adam was so funny when he was annoyed. His forehead scrunched together and his eyes narrowed.

You could totally feel the sexual tension radiating off of him.

"So Bella, are you ready for your next session with Eleazar?" Adam's question deflated my fun.

That seemed to be the reason he brought it up. He smiled at me smugly. I stuck my tongue out at him and walked to the garden where Eleazar insisted on having the lessons.

"All right, Bella. Are you ready?"

"No." I sighed and waited for Kate to appear. "Where's Kate?"

"Right here." she came up behind Adam and I saw her run her hand across Adam's back before stopping in front of me.

I shot Adam a pointed look, which he ignored.

"Okay Bella. I want you to focus on anything except projecting your shield. That may be your problem. You're so focused on the shield that you can't seem to cast it out."

It sounds like something Carlisle would say.

With a sigh, I thought about what anything else expect the shield. The one thing that caused a lot of mixed emotions was… well Jasper.

Why is it no matter how far away I get from him, he's still the only thing on my mind? I got angry, remembering how in such a short amount of time, he managed to weasel his way back into my mind. For a hundred and forty five years I was able to, not exactly forget him, but push him into the back of my mind.

My anger only intensified the more I thought about it. First he ignores me and pretends I'm not there, but then he goes and slips on the vegetarian lifestyle. And begs me to stay when I talk him away from the girl!

He can't have it both ways! Fuck, I don't want to spend my life waiting! I want to feel loved again. I want to know that the person I love actually loves me back. So much pain. So much anger. So much regret.

I collapsed under the sheer strength of it.

"Bella!" Adam sounded amazed.

"What?"

"Bella, what were you thinking about?" Eleazar asked. "Just now?"

"Uh… Jasper." I admitted in shame. "Why?"

Eleazar chuckled and shook his head. "Bella, you just projected your shield to cover not only Adam but me as well."

I blinked, unable to comprehend for a minute. "Are you serious?" I asked in surprise.

He nodded and smiled. "Oh, Bella, I'm so proud of you." he smiled. "Carlisle will be happy to hear about the progress you made."

I smiled weakly. I didn't feel proud. Maybe Carlisle was right. Thinking about Jasper did allow me to project my shield. But all those negative emotions. Is there anything left in me that still loved Jasper?

There was only one way to answer that. But I couldn't do that until I saw him again.

"Can I go? I need to hunt."

"Of course Bella" Eleazar said. "Go on. I'm going to go call Carlisle and tell him about your progress."

I nodded and left.

~*~

On my way back to the house, I caught a scent I was hoping I'd never have to catch again.

Jasper was here.

I slipped inside and eavesdropped.

"What are you doing here, Jasper? Everyone's worried about you."

"I know." He said hoarsely. "I just needed to get away. And this was the first place that I thought to come."

"Jasper, you know you're welcome here anytime. But I think you should call Carlisle and let him know. You don't want them to worry."

"No!" He sounded frantic. "Please, just give me a couple of days."

"It's already been a week, Jasper. Esme has been worried about you."

Jasper's been gone for a week? What happened in Forks? Worried, I fought with myself. I couldn't go to Jasper. Whatever happened isn't my concern.

"Jasper, what happened in Forks?"

Thank you, Eleazar!

"I caught Alice with a human in a rather… compromising position." His voice cracked with emotion. "She's been having an affair for more than ten years."

I bit my lip. Maybe pain would keep me from actually going to Jasper.

"Oh, Jasper. Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure!" he snapped. "I saw her, Eleazar!"

There was silence for a moment. "All right, Jasper. You can stay here. But you need to talk to Carlisle soon. I will tell him you are here but you will tell what is going on. Understood?"

"Yes. Thank you, Eleazar."

I heard Eleazar leave and I leaned my head back against the wall.

"You can come out now, Bella."

Busted. I stood up from my crouch and went to look at him. His eyes were black and his clothes were dishevelled. He looked pretty awful.

Jasper smiled but it didn't reach his eyes.

"You look pretty awful."

He nodded his head but couldn't seem to look at me. Despite how I felt about him right now, I couldn't help but feel guilty about this.

"Jasper," I cupped his chin and lifted his eyes up to meet mine. "I'm sorry. You don't deserve this." I reached up to kiss his cheek. "You are so much better off."

He buried his face in my hair. He whimpered and my dead heart broke.

I held him while he worked through his grief. So many emotions. It was making me dizzy.

I leaned my head against Jasper's chest and closed my eyes.

**JPOV**

I needed to get away. I don't know where but I couldn't stay in that house with Alice. I didn't trust myself. Something would have happened if I didn't go.

But where was I going to go?

I ran. I don't know how long or even how far I ran until I stopped outside the familiar house. Eleazar was waiting for me. I was surprised.

"Jasper, what are you doing here?"

"I needed to get away from the others." I mumbled, walking toward him. "I hope you don't mind me being here."

"Of course not. Come inside."

As soon as I stepped inside, her scent hit me like a ton of bricks. She was here, somewhere in this house. My body ached for her. To hold her and tell me that everything was going to be okay.

Stop it! I scorned myself. She left you, you idiot! She doesn't want you anymore.

That realization hurt more than anything else. My Bella. Was I really such a monster? Did I push her away because of duty to Alice?

There is no way I could love Alice. She has turned into such a vindictive sprite. She used her visions to manipulate my emotions and feelings. Because of her, I lost the one person I have always loved. No matter how deep the memories of Bella were buried, they were still there. And I needed her.

It was selfish of me to think that Bella would just be there, waiting for me. For all I know, she's met someone else.

I listened to Eleazar tell me that Carlisle and the rest of the Cullens were worried about me. But I couldn't talk to them. I didn't want them to know where I was. Especially Alice.

Finally I agreed to let Eleazar tell Carlisle that I was here, if only to ease their worry. I didn't want them to worry. I just needed time.

When Eleazar left, I called out to Bella.

She looked so beautiful. The time apart has certainly not done her any justice. But she looked so sad. Was it because she actually felt sorry for me? When my behaviour was atrocious?

Listening to her tell me that I didn't deserve what happened made me fell worse. I did deserve this. I was being punished for my time with Maria, and then what I did to Bella. I have been horrible.

When Bella leaned her head against my chest, I purred in contentment. She felt so warm and so right. I didn't want to let her go.

But did I have the right to want that?

**That's all for now. Until next time…**

**Review Please :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N Okay, I know. I suck. It's late but here's the chapter. I hope you like it. Enjoy. **

**A/N 2 By the way, this chapter hasn't been beta-ed either. I was anxious to get it out so please excuse any and all spelling/grammer errors. **

Chapter 15

**BPOV**

I pulled away from Jasper and looked up at him. His eyes were so sad. It broke my already dead heart in two.

"Jasper, what happened between you and Alice happened. You can't change that. And as awful as it is, I'm glad you finally see her for the bitch that she is." I pushed a stray blond curl away from his eyes. "You are so much better off without her."

"How can you say that after all the things that I've done to you?"

I sighed and walked over to the window. Everyone was gone, discretely trying to give us privacy.

"It's not easy." I admitted, placing my hand lightly on the window. "Trust me, I'm fighting the desire to rip off your arm and smack you with it a couple of times for being a complete ass. But I figured you're in enough pain."

I could feel Jasper projecting his remorse. "I'm so sorry, Bella. I never meant to hurt you. You just came into my life so suddenly—"

"And you didn't know what do about it." I finished. "I understand, Jasper, believe me I do. But what hurts the most wasn't the fact that you were married. I backed off, I didn't try to persuade you away from Alice." My voice dropped to a whisper and the hurt was undeniable. "What hurt was you didn't even bother to get to know me again. Instead, I heard bits of your past from your family."

"I know." He hung his head in shame. "Bella, you don't have any idea how badly I messed up. Please, give me another chance."

I swung around, anger bubbling up. "Another chance? You expect me to give you another chance after all this? Believe me Jasper, I know what it's like to feel such a betrayal that you had to run away but how can you ask me that? You don't deserve another chance! You had that chance and you blew it. What if Alice came back, asking for another chance? Would you give it to her, after everything that _she_ did?" I demanded.

His eyes hardened. "No."

"Well there you go." I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "Thanks to you, I have nearly lost everyone that I love!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Adam, you jackass!" I shrieked. "He's falling in love with Kate! One of these days, he's going to realize that he's in love with her and stay here. And then, I will be exactly where I started the day those fucking soldiers came to our house and told me you were dead!" By the time I finished, I was shaking so hard that my knees gave out. I slipped to the floor and cried, tearless, broken sobs. "I don't want to be alone again. I've spent too many years alone."

"Bella," Jasper was kneeling beside me and gathered me in his arms. I didn't bother trying to fight him. It was useless. "You won't be alone."

"You don't understand, Jasper." I buried my head in his shoulder, sobbing. "To see so many people around you in love. To be the only one alone. It's _hard_!"

"Bella, I understand better than most. I understand your fear of being alone and believe me, I know what it's like to be around people who don't have love. Edward was one of those people. He still is!"

A bubble of laughter rose up. "Poor Edward. What a miserable time he must have had."

Jasper didn't speak. He looked down at me and smiled. He looked so much like the Jasper that I fell in love with. I reached up and traced the planes of his face with my fingers. He held still and simply watched.

"You are so beautiful, Jasper. Why are you so afraid of letting people in and seeing you for the person that you are?"

He looked surprised. His golden eyes slipped to the floor. "I'm not beautiful, Bella. I'm a monster. I've killed so many and ruined so many lives."

My hand moved on its on to his chin and lifted his face up so he would meet my eye. "We all have that same monster in us, Jasper. But we silence that monster when we realize what we're doing is wrong. I know you Jasper. Better than anyone. You may have killed in the beginning but it tore you up inside." I shook my head and let my hand drop. "You have so much charisma. Even when we were children, you always knew what people were feeling around you. It made me love you all the more."

Jasper swallowed and took my hand in his. Neither of us spoke but I watched as he stroke the lines of my hand.

"Give me the chance to get to know you again." He finally said, looking up. "Help me understand why the rest of my family seems to love you."

I considered his offer. It was what I wanted. Just the chance to see what kind of a man he turned into during this life. Maybe I could finally get the answers that I've so desperately wanted. No one would tell me much about his early stages as a vampire. Was this my chance to finally get to know him?

"Okay."

**EPOV**

I listened to Carlisle as he talked to Eleazar. Apparently Jasper was in Alaska.

It shouldn't have been surprising that Jasper would go there. If he had gone out on his own, there could have been a slip up and none of us, save for Alice, would have known. He would have gone to either Peter and Charlotte or the Denali's. I wondered how Bella was dealing with this ordeal.

"Yes, thank you for letting me know, Eleazar. I'm glad he is with you."

_Nothing happened. He must have gone straight there_. Carlisle was deeply relieved. I couldn't say I blamed him, either.

"So?" I asked when Carlisle hung up the phone.

_Is Alice here?_

I nodded once.

_Jasper doesn't want her to know where he is_.

But wouldn't that have just given him away? Carlisle must have read the confusion on my face because he chuckled. _We're going to tell the rest of the family that Jasper called Eleazar to pass on the message to us. _

Make's sense. I nodded for him to continue.

_Apparently Alice has been having affairs for ten years. _

I gasped. "Are you serious?"

He nodded. _I find it very odd that Alice was able to keep that secret. Especially from you. _

I nodded my head in agreement, trying to think about all the times it could have happened before. It was all in vain anyway. I sighed in frustration. "What do you suppose will happen now?"

"Only time will tell."

**Unkown POV **

"You need to go now."

I looked up at Alice, tapping my nails against the chair. "And why would I listen to you?"

"He's gone! And I want him back. The only way I can do that is if you get rid of the bitch that's holding him there."

"Correct me if I'm wrong but weren't you the one that cheated on him and drew him away in the first place?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Jasper is _mine._ No one else can have him."

"A little possessive, aren't we?" I chuckled. "And what makes you so sure he's even there? According to you, Isabella didn't even tell him where she was going."

She squirmed under my gaze. "Why are you wasting so much time? Why aren't you going after her?" she was being evasive. What was she hiding?

"I'm biding my time until I know what I'm going to do." I thought for a moment. "But now that Jasper is with her, I think I know."

I watched as her eyes glazed over. I knew that look. She was going into a vision.

When she came out of it, she looked nervous. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Of course I do. It's going to work and it'll even give you back your husband. Why are you questioning me?"

Her eyes hardened. "When are you planning this?"

"I leave tomorrow."

"I'm coming with you."

"No!" I hissed. "You are to stay here. I don't need you along and messing everything up. Besides, you need to stay here so your family doesn't become too suspicious."

"They're already suspicious."

"Then keep that mind-reader of a brother out of your head until it's done."

"That's easier said than done." She grumbled.

"You must leave now." I said.

She hesitated.

"I will tell you when the job is finished."

Relieved, she nodded and left.

Turning my back, I started walking, working my plan so it all goes perfectly.

**BPOV**

"ISABELLA MARIE SWAN!"

"Oh, shit." I winced and looked away from Jasper. Adam came into the house, furious. "Hi, Adam."

"Don't you 'hi Adam' me." he snapped. "We need to talk about what's going on through that thick skull of yours."

I felt Jasper send calm to him.

"Jasper, don't manipulate my emotions." He ordered.

"Sorry."

Adam grabbed my arm. "We're going to talk."

I looked back at Jasper as Adam dragged me out. He shrugged. Clearly I was on my own. Much to my annoyace, Adam threw me over his shoulder, so I wouldn't run away from him.

He put me down and stared at me. Looking into his topaz eyes, I didn't see anger but sadness. "Bella, would you like to explain to me why exactly you think I'm going to leave you? Even if I did love Kate—and I'm not saying that I do so don't bother asking—I wouldn't think about staying here without you, Bella. You're my family and I love you."

I sat on the grass and stared down at my hands. "That's not true and you know it, Adam."

"What are you talking about? Bella, I don't understand."

"You may love me, but you've kept such a big part of you a secret. You've known me for such a long time and you've told Kate something that you've never once told me. I waited for you to be ready to tell me but you never did."

He slipped his hand under my chin and lifted my face up. "Bella, please just tell me."

I swallowed and turned my face away. "I know about your wife and daughter."

He stiffened and dropped his hand. "How?"

I didn't look at him as I spoke. "About a year after your change, I went back to Florence to see what people thought about your disappearence. It was foolish of me to think that people would forget about you. Apparently they were still looking for you. That day, I had gone to the hospital you worked at, anxious to hear any news about you. I was eavesdropping on conversations when I heard your wife."

His breath caught but I didn't look at him.

"It seems she went to the hospital every day to see if there was any news. There was a little girl beside her. She must have been eighteen months old. When she didn't hear any news, I went to talk to her." I swallowed back the guilt. "I asked her who she was and she told me. That was when I realized I had to fake your death. It was the only thing I could do in order to give your wife and daughter peace of mind."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why didn't _you_ tell _me_?" I snapped, angry that he was accusing me. "You don't know how torn up I was. I killed you, Adam and there was nothing I could do. If I had known you had a wife and a child, things would have been different. But you kept it from me for over a century!" I stood up, too worked up to sit still. "I have regreted what I did for a hundred years.

"But I was selfish." I whispered, my voice cracking. "I didn't want you to leave me. I didn't want to be alone. I spent so much time alone."

"You're right, Bella. You were selfish."

I looked up, surprised by the hardness in his onyx eyes.

"You ruined my life, Bella." He growled. "It's all your fault that I'm in this mess in the first place. If you hadn't done what you did, I would have grown old with my wife and watched my daughter grow and have children."

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry doesn't cut it, Bella. You ruined everything!" he turned his back. "I hope I never have to see you again."

I started trembling. "No, Adam you can't mean that."

"I do." He said, the anger no longer in his voice. "I hate you, Bella."

"I'm sorry."

He was gone.

I don't know how long I sat in the dirt, shaking with sobs when I finally got up and ran. I needed to get away. I couldn't take any more.

Once again, I was all alone.

**Okey-dokey. That's all. Please don't hate me for what I did between Adam and Bella. It's part of the story. For all those who are wondering who the unknown vampire is, it will be revealed in the next chapter. If you review, I'll try and get teasers out. So… Review!! **


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N Yay we reached 100 reviews! You're all awesome. So here is the next chapter! Enjoy. **

Chapter 16

**JPOV**

Remorse. Pain. Anger. Fear. Regret.

Such strong emotions. They nearly brought me to me knees. What the hell was happening?

"Is something wrong, Jasper?" Irina purred, stroking my arm.

I shook her off and stared out the window as Adam came into view. He was alone and the emotions seemed to be coming from him.

But what happened that caused such emotions?

Adam raised his head and looked at me. Something about his eyes sent a feeling of dread through me. Where was Bella? I thought they had gone out to talk. He came inside and into the living room.

"Adam, where's Bella?" I asked.

"I-I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"We got into a fight." He said in a low voice. "I got angry at her and said some things that I didn't mean."

"What kind of things?" Eleazar asked slowly.

He hung his head. "I called her selfish. I told her she ruined my life."

"Adam, why would you do that?" Kate asked gently. "You love her more than anything."

"I know. But she knew about my past. The one thing I never told her. I was so mad. I knew I was going to regret saying them but they just kept coming."

I saw red. "Where is she now?" I demanded.

He shook his head. "I don't know. I left her in the clearing."

Alone. Bella was all alone. It was exactly what she feared. She's going to do something stupid. I needed to get to her. I needed to tell her that she wasn't alone.

"Where?"

"Northeast."

I didn't hear anything else he said. I left the house, tearing off the door in my haste. Carmen was going to be pissed but I didn't care. I followed the direction that Adam said and caught their scent on a trail. When I came to the little clearing, I looked around. Bella was already gone.

Fuck! I needed to find her.

Sniffing out her scent, I found another trail. I kept following it until I realized it was a lost cause. Bella didn't want to be found and she managed to end her trail. Now what am I going to do?

Pissed, I ran back to the house. Eleazar was on the phone, presumably with Carlisle, Carmen was staring out the window and the sisters were sitting in the living room. Kate sat besides Adam, his head in her lap.

He shot up and looked at me. "Did you find her?"

I shook my head. "She doesn't want to be found."

"Now what?" Kate asked.

"Maybe she'll come back." Tanya said, winking at me. I tried not to shutter. And I thought Tanya always wanted Edward.

"She's not coming back." Adam said sadly. "I told her I never wanted to see her again. If I came here, she'd find somewhere else to go."

"Do you know where she might have gone?" Carmen asked.

There was silence as Adam thought. Eventually he shook his head. "She could have gone anywhere."

"Is this the first time that you and Bella have been separated?" Kate asked.

He nodded. "I was a fool." He whispered. "I had no right to blame her."

"Everything will be okay, Adam." She said, running her fingers through his hair. "We'll find Bella."

"And the Cullens are going to help."

I glanced at Eleazar. "They're coming here?"

"They want to help."

"What about Alice?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No. Esme and Emmett are staying behind to watch her. They don't trust her anywhere near you."

I breathed a silent sigh of relief and stared out the window. The sun was setting beneath the clouds and I feared the worst for Bella.

"She's all alone." I whispered, well aware that everyone in the room could hear me. "She has abandonment issues. She might do something to end her misery."

"She wouldn't do that, would she?"

"She tried to once. But it didn't work. She might try again." I turned around, avoiding Adam completely. "I'm going to find her. I don't care what the rest of you do but I need to find her."

"Go, Jasper. We'll wait for the Cullens to come and then we'll look as well."

I nodded. "Call me if you hear something."

**BPOV **

_All alone… nothing left… Adam… so sorry… Jasper… love…you… Andre… I'll see you soon… home… Texas…_

**JPOV**

I don't know what it was that led me to Texas but here I was, standing in the forest. The sun was shinning and I knew I couldn't leave until at least sunset.

Being back in Texas made me nervous. While this was where my happiness began, it was also where I lost everything.

_My Bella_.

I needed to find her. She was my life and I couldn't bear to loose her again. Not when I just got her back.

I was surprised when my cell phone went off. You would think being in the middle of the forest, I wouldn't get any signal.

"Hello?"

"_Hey, son. How's your search?" _

"Not great. I'm in Texas. I don't know what possessed me to come here, but I'm here."

"_Actually, I think you're right to be Texas. If Bella is thinking about doing something drastic, she would go say goodbye to your son." _

Andre.

"I never thought about that."

"_I've spoken to Adam. He says that they go to Texas every year on the day he died so Bella could talk to him."_

"What day?"

"_April thirteenth."_

"What's today's date?" I haven't paid much attention to the date since I started looking for her.

"_April twelfth." _

"So tomorrow."

"_Tomorrow."_ He agreed.

"All right. I'll go and see if she's there." 

"_Jasper, if you find her, let her know that she is not alone and that we love her." _

I was surprised by that. It was strange to think that the family could love someone so deeply, after knowing her for such a short amount of time.

"I will, Dad." I promised, using the endearment I rarely ever use. "Once I find her, I'll bring her home."

"_Good luck, son." _

I held my phone as I looked around. So it surprised me again when it went off. "Carlisle? Did you forget to tell me something?"

"_Wrong person, fucker." _

Ahh, the sarcastic words of Peter the not so great brother. "Hello, Peter. What can I do for you?"

"_Well, for one you can tell me why you're in Texas. Except I have a feeling its about the lil' missy that showed up in town just a couple of days ago." _

"Bella? You found her?"

"_Not exactly. Char caught her scent while she was out huntin'. We can't find her but I figured you can."_

"Why would you think of calling me?"

"_Because I'm all knowing." _

I snorted. "Seriously, Peter. I don't have time for games."

"_All right. In all seriousness, Char caught a wiff of your scent. It was weak but she could smell it." _

"So she is here."

"_Yep. Char said the scent led to the cemetary. Don't know what a vampire would be doing in a cemetary but what's where it is." _

"Great. Thanks Peter. I'll call you later."

"_You'd better. You owe me an explaination!"_

"Goodbye, Peter."

He chuckled as I hung up on him. I shook my head.

~*~

It was nightfall when I finally got to the cemetary. It was the very same one that Bella's father was buried in. He died a couple of months after our wedding. Apparently he'd been sick and no one knew about it. Stubborn old man.

I decided since I was here, I'd go see him. It was the least I could do.

Finding it was pretty easy. What shocked me was the white lily that sat atop the headstone before pieces clicked. Bella put it there. She was in a cemetary. Why not say hello to her father while she's here?

HERE LIES CHARLES SWAN,

1826-1863,

BELOVED FRIEND AND FATHER

"Hi, Charlie." I said, sitting in front of the headstone. "It's been a long time. I don't know if you're watching, wherever it is that you are, but I'm sorry. For everything. I messed so much stuff up. No matter what any one says, I love Bella. I just don't deserve her." I looked up at the stars. There were so many. "I wish you were there for her. You could have kept her safe and helped her through the loss of her son." I swallowed, the words, "our son" getting caught in my throat. "I don't know what to do to help her."

A cool breeze washed over me, bringing the smell of strawberries and freesias. _Go to her._

I stiffened. "Charlie?" The breeze picked up. _Go now, you idiot. _

Whether or not I was going crazy didn't matter. I needed to get to Bella. "Will you show me?"

I followed the wind until I came across a woman lying on the grass in front of a headstone. I took a slow breath and walked to her. I caught sight of the words before Bella noticed me.

JASPER ANDRE WHITLOCK

MARCH 1865- APRIL 1865

BELOVED SON

Seeing the name across the headstone and the date of his death, I could understand why Bella lost her will to live.

"Bella?" I whispered. "Darlin'?"

She didn't raise her head but I knew she recognized me. I went to her slowly and sat down behind her. Neither of us said anything. _Talk to her._

"So this is our son?" When she didn't answer, I sighed. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, Bella. I understand."

She turned her head and looked at me but didn't speak. Her eyes were as black as coal but they looked dead.

"Darlin', I know you're upset. Trust me, I do. But you have to know that Adam didn't mean what he said. He said everything he did in the heat of the moment."

She turned away again as her body shook with tears. I moved behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. "Bella, you know you'll never be alone. Adam loves you, despite what he said. And the family loves you. Carlisle told me so himself." I kissed the back of her head and moved my lips to her ear. "I love you. More than anything in this world. You are my life and I messed everything up."

Finally she turned to look at me. "How could you love me?" her voice was rough from disuse. "I have never been worthy of you Jasper. You're perfect. Everything that I'm not."

"No, Bella. If anything, I was never worthy of you. And I am far from perfect. I've messed up so many things."

Bella reached up and ran her fingers across the scars that littered my neck, shoulders and torso. I winced, though they didn't hurt, at her soft touch. I was ashamed of them.

"How did you get these, Jasper?" she asked, popping the buttons of my shirt so she could see the rest.

"It's a long story, darlin'."

"I've got time."

"Are you sure?" I asked. "It really isn't that pleasant."

She nodded her head.

"Okay." I took a deep breath. "What do you know about the vampire wars?"

"Just a little from my time Italy."

I nodded. "The vampires in the south were creating newborns to fight for territory. You know how newborns are when they're reborn. They're strong and unpredictable." She nodded. "Well these newborns were trained." I went on to explain to her everything. What happened when I was changed, Maria, Peter and Charlotte, my depression, leaving Maria and finding Alice and joining the Cullens.

The sky was starting to light up as I finished. Bella's emotions had gone haywire throughout the story. It was dizzying. When I fell silent, I watched Bella's face. She had closed her eyes and shook her head, her pain flowing out of her in waves.

"I'm so sorry that happened to you." she rested her head on my chest as I wrapped my arms around her. "God, I'm such an ass."

I couldn't help the laugh that escaped me. "No, Bella. I never gave you the chance to hear about my past. But everything that happened led me back to you." I leaned forward and kissed her forhead. "To feel you in my arms again. God, it feels wonderful."

"I've missed you, Jasper."

"I've missed you too."

She looked up at me with her wide onyx eyes and smiled. Then she leaned forward and brushed her lips against mine.

I didn't hesitate to kiss her back. The kiss started out slow before she got more daring and tentatively licked my bottom lip with her tongue, asking for entrance. I ablied and neither of us fought for dominance. When we pulled apart, I cupped her face and pressed a chaste kiss on her lips.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Aw, how cute."

We looked up. When I saw the woman, I pulled Bella up and pushed her behind me. While I knew Bella could take care of herself, I didn't want to chance anything. How the hell didn't I hear the woman coming?

Oh. I was so lost in Bella that I didn't notice anything else around me. Stupid.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

"From you? Nothing. From her?" she narrowed her red eyes at Bella. "Revenge."

"What did she do to you?" I demanded.

"She murdered my mate." She hissed. "And now I have come to return the favour."

I looked back at Bella. She was as confused as I was. "I don't know what you're talking about. Nor do I know who you are."

"Ha! Of course not. You've spent the past hundred years avoiding me." She shook her head. "My name is Seraphina. And you, Isabella, murdered my mate, Daniel."

Recognition washed through Bella. "I didn't know Daniel had a mate." She said slowly. "How come I've never heard of you?"

She had no answer. "It doesn't matter, you little bitch. You will die and I will love every minute of it." she turned her gaze back to me. "And I have the perfect idea on how to do that."

As I stared at her, I seemed to get lost in her eyes. I couldn't look away. I tried but she seemed to have an unbreakable hold on me. Then the most terrible pain washed over me and I feel to my knees.

"What are you doing?"

**All right, that's all. Review please!**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N Here is the next chapter. I know you're anxious to hear about what happens so enjoy.**

Chapter 17

**BPOV**

I watched in horror, unable to understand what was happening.

"Stop!" I shouted. "Leave him alone."

Jasper laid on the ground, completely still, occasionally twitching. It was one of the weirdest things I've ever seen.

"What did you do to him?" I demanded, staring widely at Jasper.

The bitch didn't say anything but a smile formed on her face as Jasper slowly sat up, shaking his head. I rushed to him, relived that he was alright.

"Jasper? Are you okay? What happened?"

He looked at me and I automatically moved backwards. I swallowed back my fear. "Jasper?"

His eyes were black and cold. Everything about him changed.

"Come here, Jasper."

"Wat did you do to him?" I screamed, watching as he stood up and walked over to to Seraphina.

She grabbed his chin and lifted his face up. "Mmm. Perfect."

"Tell me!"

She shifted her gaze to me, her smile sinister. "It's simple, Miss. Bella. I've taken Jasper's humanity and turned him back into the ruthless, heartless, soulless bastard he was during the vamire wars."

My gaze flickered to Jasper. He didn't seem remotely bothered by what she called him. "That's impossible."

"Actually, it really isn't. It's my gift."

I stared at her with horror. _Jasper._

She sighed. "See, his humanity is like a soul. When you take away his soul, you take away his humanity." Seraphina smiled. "Think of me as the devil."

"You can't do this to him!"

"Actually, I can." She laughed. "See, I have plans for him." She ran the back of her hand down the side of his face.

"What sort of plans?" I demanded.

"I'm going to use him to extract my revenge." She walked to me, her red eyes alight with amusement. "Imagine this, Miss. Bella. Your old lover being the one to rip you to sheds and throw you into a fire."

I swallowed. "Jasper would never do that."

"You think so?" she smiled and nodded to Jasper. Before I could blink, Jasper was behind me, twisting my arm painfully. "It's funny really. Your biggest fear is being alone. And now that I have Jasper, you don't have anything left. So technically, there is no one left to mourn your miserable existance."

She was right. I had nothing left. "Why are you doing this? Why him?"

Seraphina looked at Jasper. "Let her go." She ordered.

He did as she said and walked over to her, standing as close to her as he could get. "Shouldn't it be obvious by now, little Bella? Not only do I want to dispose of you but so does Alice."

_Alice_. "I don't think _this_ was what Alice had in mind."

"Oh, she knows all about it." she said, running her finger down the side of Jasper's face. "In fact, she wanted to come with me to witness this but I told her to stay with the Cullens. They're all so gullible with their trust. They just couldn't see that their little future seeing bitch betrayed them."

My hands clenched into fists. She noticed because she laughed. "Oh, Bella. You don't have a chance in hell of defeating me. Not only am I stronger but I have Jasper. And he has lots of experience fighting vampires."

"This isn't going to work. Jasper will remember who he is. And when that happens, it won't be me he's going to be ripping to shreads."

"Is that so?" she said with amusement. "Well, Miss. Bella. I purpose a challenge. If you think you can find a shred of Jasper's humanity left, I'll return what I've taken." I stared at her suspiciously.

"And if I can't?"

"Well, nothing will change." She said. "Jasper will still be mine to command and he will be the one to kill you." she raised an eyebrow at me. "What do you say?"

I bit my lip and stared at Jasper. I couldn't see a trace of the man he used to be. He was so cold and hard. He couldn't even look at me. Swallowing back my fear, I nodded my head in her direction.

"Perfect." She clapped her hands. "Do your worst."

I took a hesitant step toward Jasper, keeping my eyes on his the entire time. "Jasper, it me. It's Bella." His eyes flickered to me. "I know you're there and I know your don't want this. You're so much better than this. Jasper, you're not the same man you were during the vampire wars. You are a brave and honest man. You have so much love to give but you can't let go of your past." He growled and I paused but didn't step back. "Think about all the people who love you, Jasper. Your family. Carlisle and Esme. Think about what this would do to Esme." Something flickered through his eyes but it was gone before I could identify it. "You don't have to listen to her, Jasper. You don't want this. I know you don't."

Jasper stared at me with his black eyes. "You don't know what I want."

I cringed at the dead tone in his voice. "Jasper," I protested

"Keep away from me."

"Wonderful!" Seraphina clapped her hands in delight. "Well, it looks like Jasper is still mine. Come here, Jazzy."

I watched as he walked to her. she put her hands on his shoulders and pulled him closer, pressing a kiss to his lips.

"STOP!" I screamed, looking away.

"Your Jasper is gone, Isabella. You are all alone."

"No." I moaned, dropping to my knees. "No,"

"Yes!" she said with a laugh. "There is nothing left for you to live for. And why should you? No one wants you. I'm sure you'd be better off left in the darkness of death. There is no one left to protect you, Isabella. No one to tell you that you are not alone. No one to tell you that they love you." her voice came from right above me.

"No." My voice came out in a whisper.

"You are nothing more than a pathetic, selfish little girl who just wants to be loved." She stroked my hair away from my face. I squeezed my eyes shut. "Newflash for you, darling. No one ever will."

"No."

**SPOV **(Seraphina)

I watched with great pride as Bella crumbled from my words. She was weak. I actually knew for a fact that Jasper loved the bitch more than any human could love their god. Which made this so much sweeter. Little Jasper was still in there, fighting to break free. While I did manage to take his humanity, there was a sliver left, clinging to the girl that lay before us.

"What happens now?" Jasper asked.

What, indeed? I wasn't ready to kill the girl before us. I wanted to watch her suffer more before I kill her. It will be all the more sweeter when she doesn't fight back. But she's not there yet.

"Let's leave her for now." I decided. "Then we can kill her."

"Yes, mistress." Jasper took my hand and pressed a kiss to it.

I turned back to Bella. "Enjoy your last fews hours, Isabella. By tomorrow night, your suffering shall end. I guarantee it." I left the girl. "Come along, Jasper."

**PPOV **(Peter)

I followed Charlotte through the cemetery. Even after all these years, cemeteries still gave me the creeps.

The sun was just starting to set but when I crossed a familiar scent. Charlotte had stopped too. "You smell that?"

She nodded once. "It's Jasper's scent."

"With two others."

"I'm sure one of them is girl Jasper was lookin' for."

"But what about the other?" I mused.

"Only one way to find out for sure." Charlotte and I followed the scent until we came across a vampire curled up on the ground. Charlotte went to her while I looked around. There was no sign of anyone else here. I knew Jasper was here at one point but where had he gone? And whose scent was it that mingled with his?

I paused at a headstone and swore. "Hey, Charlotte, come look at this." I looked over at her. She was trying to coax the girl to get up. Giving up for the moment, she came to see what I was looking at.

"Jasper Andre Whitlock?" she said, reading the headstone. "You don't think…?"

"Yup. This was Jasper's kid."

"I didn't know Jasper had a child."

"Well, he certainly wasn't old when he died."

"Wasn't Jasper turned before the child was born?" Charlotte asked.

I nodded and looked over at the girl. "And I'm pretty sure that is his wife."

Charlotte seemed to agree with my assessment. "But why would he just leave her here?"

"That stupid motherfucker better not have down something stupid."

The girl whimpered. "At least she's lucid."

"I don't think she's that lucid." I said, going over to her. I crouched down and looked at her face. She opened her eyes for a moment, met my gaze and then closed her eyes again.

"Jasper." she whispered.

"We should bring her home. We need to figure out what happened and she needs to get cleaned up." I gathered her into my arms and we started home.

~*~

I set her down on the bed, watching as she curled into a fetal position.

"What do you suppose happened to her?" Charlotte asked.

I shrugged. "We should call one of the Cullens. See what they know about the girl."

She nodded and went to do that. I sat in the chair beside the bed and stared at her. This had to be Bella, the girl Jasper was looking for.

She rolled over and looked at me. Her eyes were the same yellow colour of the Cullens. We stared at each other for a while before she closed them again, whimpering Jasper's name.

Charlotte came back into the room. "I just talked to Carlisle. According to him, this is Bella Swan. You were right about her being Jasper's wife. They were married before Jasper joined the war." She came up behind me and put her hands on my shoulder. "She ran away after a particular bad incident that happened in Alaska. Jasper came looking for her and somehow knew to look for her here."

I nodded and looked at her.

"Did you ask where Jasper is?"

"He doesn't know. He thought Jasper was with Bella."

"We're just going to have to wait until she calms down some before we talk to her."

"Jasper… please… I love you…" Random words escaped the girl and we turned back to look at her.

"What do you suppose is wrong with her?" Charlotte asked. "Is it possible for vampires to go crazy?"

"I don't think she's crazy." I answered, watching her. "I'm pretty sure her mind shut itself down. This is a coping method."

When her trembling body subsided, I moved to the bed carefully. "Bella?" I made my voice as soft as possible so I didn't scare her.

Her eyes opened and she looked at me with yellow eyes. She cringed away from me when she saw my eyes. "Isabella, you don't have to be afraid of me. I'm not going to hurt you."

She swallowed. "Who are you?" she asked without opening her eyes.

"I'm Peter." When that got no response, I said, "I'm a friend of Jasper."

His name must have registered something and she sat up. "You're the one that led Jasper away from Maria."

Surprised, though I shouldn't have been, I nodded. But before I could speak, she spoke again. "You have to help me. Jasper's in trouble."

"Trouble? What kind of trouble?" I demanded.

"Do you know who Seraphina is?" I nodded. "She took away all his humanity. He's reverted back to the same man he was during the vampire wars."

My eyes tightened. "Why?"

Her eyes lowered. "She wants to use him to kill me."

My eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"Because I killed her mate."

"Daniel."

She nodded.

"That's not going to happen."

She shook her head. "There's no stopping him." She raised her eyes to me. They held nothing but resolve. "I have nothing left, anyway. I might as well let him do it."

"Stop being ridiculous." I snapped at her. "Nothing is going to happen to you. Whatever that bitch did can and will be reversed. I don't fucking give a shit what I have to do to convince Jasper otherwise but I'll fight through heaven and hell to make sure that you get Jasper back. I'll tie him to a fucking chair if I have to." That wasn't exactly going to stop him if he wanted to get out but I think she got the point.

After my little rant, Bella started giggling. She fucking giggled! "Why the hell are you giggling?"

"You've got quite a colourful vocabulary, there, Pete."

I growled at the name. "Don't call me Pete."

"Or what?" she challenged in between giggles.

"Don't test me, woman. I'm not in the mood."

"Whatever you say."

I was relieved she was feeling better. Seeing a vampire in a catatonic state was scary shit. "So you're Jasper's wife."

She lost the smile and nodded once.

"When we're you changed?"

"About a year after I found out Jasper was dead. Just after my son was died."

I nodded my head. "We're going to get Jasper back, Bella. I can promise you that."

"I guess we'll see soon enough."

"Yes." I agreed. "We will."

**Review please.**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N Yay! Another chapter! Well, I hope you enjoy this. Read on. **

Chapter 18

**BPOV**

Peter's plan seemed utterly ridiculous. I knew for a fact that it wasn't going to work.

Just talk to Jasper. Yes, because that worked so well the last time. But Peter wouldn't listen.

"I tried talking to him Peter. It didn't work. He's not there."

He shook his head. "He's there, Bella. He's just buried under all that hate. If I could get him out of that state the first time, I'm pretty sure his wife will be able to get him out the second time."

"He doesn't want me, Peter!"

"Oh, please. From what you told me, Jasper wouldn't have admitted his undying love only to make you suffer right after." Peter rolled his eyes. "Jasper's love for you runs deeper than some spell done by a crazy bitch."

"It isn't a spell, Peter."

"Dammit, woman, will you listen to yourself?" Peter growled. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you didn't _want_ to get Jasper back."

Anger boiled up and I slapped him hard across the face.

"Ow! Jesus, woman, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"Me? You want to know what the hell is wrong with me?! You're the one suggesting I don't want Jasper back!You're a complete idiot."

"Yeah, well you're not so great yourself!"

We both turned at the sound of laughter. Charlotte was sitting on the couch, watching our argument with rapt amusement.

"What is so funny?" Peter and I demanded.

We glared at each other.

"Stop that!" We said together.

"Peter!"

"Bella!"

"Gah!"

Charlotte finally lost it and nearly fell to the floor laughing. "You two… are… acting… like an old… married couple…" she gasped in between laughs.

"Yeah, right. Like I'd ever want to be married to this imbecile."

"You're not so great yourself, Isabella!"

"Oh shut up."

"And what are you going to do if I don't?" he challenged.

"All right, really? How do you two expect to get Jasper back if you can't agree on anything?" Charlotte asked, finally putting an end to our argument.

"He started it." I grumbled.

Peter made a face at me, which only made me to stick my tongue out at him.

"Must you two act like children?"

We glared at each other. "Yes." Once again, we said it together.

Charlotte stood up and, with a shake of her head, started to leave.

"Where are you going?" Peter called.

"I'm going to call Carlisle. Clearly you two can't work together and we'll need some backup if you continue to behave like this."

I glanced at Peter. "This is all your fault." I said, following Charlotte out of the room.

"Uh-huh. Whatever you say."

**SPOV **(Seraphina)

Jasper was getting restless. I knew that he was fighting against the spell that took away his humanity. He really wanted to get back to his little wife. Well, that wasn't going to be an option.

"Master, Alice is on the phone." One of the human boys said softly.

I rolled my eyes. Of course Alice would want to know everything that is going on. Since she can't see anything that's going on, she needs to be told.

"Give me the phone."

The boy handed me the phone. "Hello, Alice."

"Seraphina."

"What do you want? I'm busy right now."

"I need to know how Jasper is doing. I still can't see him in any of my visions and it's driving me crazy. I'm trapped in the house because the Cullens don't trust me to go out on my own."

I nearly laughed. It was comical how hard Alice had to try to get things her way and most of the time, it blew up in her face.

"I told you to be careful, didn't I, Alice?"

She didn't respond. "Jasper is fine. In fact, I've almost nearly succeeded in getting rid of Mrs. Whitlock."

"Don't call her that!" Alice hissed.

"Do not tell me what I can and cannot call people, Alice. You are not in charge of me." I warned in a hard voice. "If I remember correctly, Jasper is no longer Whitlock. That man died the day he joined the Cullen family."

"He'll always be a Whitlock."

"Just as she will always be the one and only woman in his heart."

"No!"

"Yes." I answered. "Get over yourself, Alice. Jasper does not and will never, want you again." I decided to provoke her. It was just too much fun to ignore. "You didn't see the little scene I walked in on. If I didn't want to see the bitch killed, I'd probably find it quite romantic. He was declaring his undying love to her and she was kissing him like there was no tomorrow." I couldn't help but chuckle at the last thought.

Ironically enough, there would be no tomorrow for Miss. Bella. She will be wherever it is vampires go when they die.

"No!" Alice shrieked. "I don't believe you! Jasper would never betray me."

"Well, he did." I smiled. "Though I wouldn't say he betrayed you. You did that all on your own. You drove him away and into the arms of the woman he will always love."

"Liar!"

"I have no reason to lie to you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have business to attend to." I hung up the phone before she had the chance to speak again.

I shook my head and laughed. Alice was almost too easy to provoke now. It was no fun anymore.

~*~

I stood by the window and watched as Jasper faught with some of the young vampire boys. It was almost too easy for him.

I walked out to the field and watched Jasper's footwork. It was almost too fast to catch. Who would have thought I'd ever have the likes of Jasper Whitlock fighting _for_ me instead of _against_ me.

A thought, while disturbing, struck me as I thought about the end of Bella Swan. The likelihood of Jasper regaining his humanity back when Bella was dead was fairly high. He was fighting hard against the wall I placed on him. And there was actually no way in hell I'd be able to fight him off alone.

"Why all the fear, Mistress?" Jasper's smooth voice came from a couple of feet in front of me.

I looked up at him, at the cocky smirk on his face. I cupped his cheek with a seductive smile. "No fear, my love. No fear."

I knew he didn't believe me but at least he didn't press on the issue. Instead, I pressed my lips against his. He nipped my bottom lip and I groaned, inviting him further.

"Now, now, Jasper. Don't start something you can't finish."

"Who says I can't finish it?"

**PPOV **

Dame woman. Why the hell can't she stay out of my business? It's her own fault.

"You really should stop arguing with her." Edward said with a smirk. "It isn't getting you anywhere."

I glared at him. _Stupid fuck. Stay out of my head!_ Usually I found Edward to be annoying and self-rightous. Somehow, Bella has been getting under my skin so much that I barely realized he was there.

Can't say I even know when he showed up. Most of the Cullens were here, exculding Alice, Emmett, Esme and Rosalie. Apparently Emmett was pissed to be staying behind when all he wanted to do was fight the vile harpy and get his brother back. So Rosalie had to stay behind and keep him occupied while all this was happening.

Bella's friend Adam was even here, but he was too busy grovling to Bella, who wouldn't speak to him so he wasn't much help.

"Peter, did Bella tell you when Seraphina and Jasper would be back for her?" Carlisle asked.

I started to shake my head but Charlotte beat me to the punch. "Don't bother asking him for any details. Peter and Bella have all but ripped each other's throat out since she got here." She laughed. "But she told me that they'll be at the graveyard tomorrow. I think they still expect Bella to be there, waiting for them."

Edward eyed me with a smile. _What so funny, Fuckward_?

He grimaced at the name but otherwise didn't answer. Pussy.

"Where is Bella, anyway? I haven't seen her since we got here." Carlisle said.

"She went hunting." I answered, pleased that I actually had an answer to that one. "She hasn't gone since she got here."

Speak of the devil.

Bella walked inside, her eyes back to the golden colour I was used to. Despite all the heated arguments we got into the past couple of hours, Bella was still feeling lonely. I recognized the way she stood and held herself. It was similar to the way Jasper held himself during the vampire wars only a lot less masculine.

Edward snickered and looked over at Bella.

"Are you okay, Bella?" Edward asked in a soft voice.

She looked at him with a small smile and nodded. "I just want to get my Jasper back."

I was surprised to hear her say _my_ Jasper. While vampires are known for marking their mates, Bella hasn't said anything since she got here about Jasper being hers. Jasper has, but not Bella.

"We will get him back, Bella. I guarantee it." Carlisle promised.

"I know you will." Bella agreed, whole heartedly. "But at what cost?"

"We're not going to lose you too, Bella. You're a part of this family." Edward said sharply.

Bella stared at him in shock.

"Edward's right, Bella. You are a part of this family whether you believe us or not." Carlisle agreed in a reassuring voice. "Besides, Esme would never forgive me if something happened to you."

If she could have, I'm pretty sure Bella would have flushed with pleasure.

When a phone went off, Carlisle excused himself to answer it.

"Edward, do you know what's going on with Alice?" Bella asked, sitting across from him.

"No. Whatever's going on with her, she blocking me out. With images that I don't want to see of her and Jasper together."

That was probably the wrong thing to say but Bella didn't fly off the hook when he did. Instead, her eyes grew sad and she looked at her hands.

Edward cursed under his breath and went to sit next to Bella, wrapping her in his arms. "I'm sorry, Bella. I didn't mean to bring that up."

"It's okay, Edward. I asked." Bella laid her head on his shoulder and relaxed into his embrace.

_Jasper's not going to be too happy that you're chumming it up with his wife_, I silently said, gleefully.

He sent me a death glare. Before he could retort, he stiffened and turned to look at Carlisle.

"What happened?"

Carlisle looked alarmed.

"Alice is gone."

**Okay. So that's all. And before you start throwing tomatoes at me for the scene between Jasper and Seraphina, keep in mind that Jasper is under her spell. **

**Anyways, Review and tell me what you think. **


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N Just a short chapter for Alice. Just a warning, there is about two or three chapters left of N.A. Anyway, enjoy. **

Chapter 19

**APOV** (Alice)

It was almost too easy to get away.

All I needed to do was get Emmett riled up and him and Rose would be distracted for a good couple of hours. The tricker part was getting rid of Esme.

It wasn't too difficult. Despite everything that's happened, Esme still loves me — or rather _did_ — and believed everything I said.

One of the obstacles that was rather annoying was having to run to Texas, seeing how all my credit cards and spare cash was taken from me.

Once there, finding Seraphina and Jasper turned out to be the hardest part of the expedition. Because they were so closely intertwined with Isabella, I wasn't able to see anything. While that annoyed me more than anything, I eventually caught their scent and followed it.

Jasper's scent led me to an old rundown cottage on the outskirts of town.

Seraphina must have caught my presence because she came out, furious and frustrated. "Alice!" she hissed. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I needed to be here. I was tired of being kept in the dark."

"You can't be here, Alice. You'll only make things worse."

"You can't tell me what I can or cannot do. Besides, you don't know the outcome any more than I do." I snapped back.

Seraphina's jaw clenched, I noticed happily. "I know that Jasper doesn't want to see you. He may have lost his humanity but he hasn't quite lost his memory of what you did to him."

I paused.

"I want to see him."

"You can't."

"Why the hell not?"

"Because I know without a doubt he will rip you to shreds."

"He wouldn't do that."

"Oh, he would. He's been feeling very closed in. He's been fighting with my boys since we got here."

I glared at her. "Let. Me. See. Him."

She sighed. "Fine. Can't say I didn't warn you." she walked back to the door. "Jasper, there's someone here to see you."

I could feel the anger and axiousness projecting off of Jasper as he got closer. I stared at him when he appeared at the door. He didn't resemble anything of the man I loved.

"Jasper?" I walked to him slowly. "It's me, baby. Are you okay?"

He stiffened. "Stay away from me, Alice."

I paused for a moment, contemplating. "Is everything okay, Jazzy?"

"Don't call me that." He growled.

"Look, if you're upset about what happened, I really am sorry." I swore.

"Liar." He looked at me with flat black eyes. "You should know better than to lie to an empath, Alice."

"Look, if this is about Bella —" I knew instantly that that was the wrong thing to say.

"Do _not_ speak that name to me." he growled. Before I could blink, he was standing in front of me with his hand wrapped around my throat.

I had to admit, Jasper was really scaring me in that moment. I've never seen him like this before.

"I warned you, Alice."

"Why aren't you doing anything?" I growled. Jasper's hand tightened.

"It's simple. You are nothing important to me." Seraphina said. "All you were good for was information. And that information turned out to be wrong." She took a couple of steps forward. "I was planning on destroying you once Bella was dead." She sighed and shrugged nonchalantly. "But, now that you're here, I can do it _now_."

"No! You can't!" Jasper let me go and looked at Seraphina.

"You're right." she agreed. "I won't be. Jasper will."

I looked at Jasper with terrified eyes and took a step back when I saw the anger burning in his black eyes.

"Jasper, you can't do this. Remember everything we shared? It was all good."

"No." He disagreed, stalking towards me. "You lied to me." Another step. "You cheated on me." Another step. "You kept me away from Bella." He was standing in front of me now. "You are nothing to me."

I stared into his eyes and let it all go. There was nothing I could do. I accepted my fate and waited for the end.

**Review. I know you're anxious for Jasper to be rescued. No fears. The chaper will be out tomorrow! **


	20. Chapter 20

"_Love is as much of an object as an obsession, everybody wants it everybody seeks it, but few ever achieve it, those who do, will cherish it, be lost in it, and among all, will never… never forget it."_

~Curtis Judalet

Chapter 20

I waited.

I needed this to end. I needed the annoying voice in my head to stop and leave me the fuck alone.

Only a little longer.

Seraphina was anxious. She couldn't wait till this ended. Too bad the bitch when it does, she won't see what's coming for her. She was going to be as dead as a doornail before this night ends. Maybe she could plot my death with Isabella in the afterlife.

I chuckled at that thought.

I was tired of serving under a female. Once this was over, I work alone. No one will be able to stop me.

_Bella will stop you_. The voice in my head said.

_No. Isabella doesn't have the strength. _

_Bella _will_ stop you, even if she has to sacrifice herself to do it. _

_Leave me alone! _

_Never… _the voice faded out and I began pacing, waiting for the sun to set. Only a few more hours.

"Jasper, darling. You're going to wear a trail in the carpet." Seraphina said from across the room.

I stiffened at the sound of her voice. "Would you like me to help you relax?" she purred in a seductive voice.

I tried not to shutter at the thought of her touching me. "I'm fine." I said curtly.

Her anger spiked. "Remember who you're dealing with, Jasper."

Nice job, Whitlock! I scolded myself. Turning, I gave her my most heart wrenching smiles. "Forgive me, Mistress. I'm feeling anxious."

She bought my lie because she smiled. "All is forgiven, my love. The sun will set soon and then we will get our revenge."

Personally, I couldn't understand why she was hell bent on killing Isabella. It seemed like a waste of time but I didn't voice my opinion.

Instead, I waited in silence, staring out the window and watching as the sun dipped below the horizon.

**BPOV**

I sat on the grass in front of Andre's headstone. The words had faded over time but I could still read it, as clear as the first time I saw it. I reached out to trace the letters. The stone felt strangely cool against my fingertips. _Andre_.

I sighed.

_Jasper_.

It's bizarre how, in a time like this, I don't feel afraid of death. Maybe it's because it's been a long time coming? Or maybe it's because I'll finally be with my son. It was my goal to find some way to bring Jasper back from the darkness. His family will be able to help him through it when I'm gone.

**I'll always love you. Through heaven and hell, I will be there to protect you**. His words echoed through my head, words he spoke the day we were married.

I looked past the headstones and watched the sun dip below until the sky was lit with an arrangement of colours. It was so beautiful.

"Oh, Jasper," I whispered, lying across the grass with my head resting on my arms.

**PPOV** (Peter)

"Bella's gone."

"Is that really such a surprise?" Charlotte asked.

"No." Edward said through clenched teeth. "But what was she thinking? Going there by herself. She could get herself killed."

"I think she knows that." I said.

"So she went willingly?"

I didn't respond.

"What was the last thing Bella said to you before she left?" Carlisle asked.

"'Thank you for helping me. I'll never forget you.'"

"I think we should go to the cemetery." Charlotte said. "She may need our help."

"She may need it but she won't want it." I said gravely. "Why do you think she didn't tell us where she was going?"

"What do we do than?" Edward growled. "Just sit back and wait for it to happen?"

"No. We'll go."

The sun was just starting to set as we made our way to the cemetery.

**SPOV **

It was almost time. I could smell death in the air and it wasn't from Alice.

Poor little Alice. To be ripped to shred and thrown into a fire by your ex-lover. That was just too poetic.

Can't say I blame Jasper for his actions. I would have done the exact same to Daniel, no matter how much I loved him.

But I never got the chance. That jackass slept around with enough women — human or vampire. And right when I was about to extract my revenge, little Bella Whitlock just had to be there and ruin everything.

Everything was going exactly the way I wanted it. Bella will be dead and Jasper will be mine for all eternity.

Glancing over at him, I watched the smooth expanse of his shoulders tighten at whatever he was thinking about.

"Relax, Jasper. This will all be over soon. Then we can go anywhere and everywhere."

"Yes, Mistress." He said, staring out the window. "Yes, we can."

**JPOV **

Arriving in the cemetery, I could see Isabella exactly where I left her.

It made me smile. She was too predictable. I wondered if she moved at all.

The moon outlined her body and she seemed to glow.

_So beautiful_, the other voice in my head whispered.

_Shut up! _

"Oh, Jasper," she whispered.

Her heartbroken words made me stop for a moment.

"What are you waiting for, Jasper? Kill her! She's right there." Seraphina snapped, pushing me towards her.

I watched as Bella sat lifted her head and looked at me. She sat up slowly, her eyes on me the whole time.

"Isabella."

She flinched at the cold tone.

"Jasper." Her voice sounded weak, even to my ears. It would be no fun to kill her if she didn't fight back.

_So don't fight. _

"Bella!" I turned at the sound of Edward's voice.

His shock hit me hard as he looked at me. I knew what he was looking at. The red eyes.

Peter grabbed Edward's arm before he could pounce. "Don't. Even with your mind reading abilities, Jasper will still be able to kick your ass."

"He's right, Eddie. You should know that by now."

Edward growled.

"Jasper, son. You don't want to do this." Carlisle said, moving out from behind Edward. "You love Bella."

I stared at him with cold eyes. He didn't flinch. "No."

Bella whimpered. "Jasper,"

"Shut up!" I roared.

She stumbled backwards as my anger hit her at full force.

"Bella!" Edward yelled, working to get away from Peter.

"Stop!" Peter shouted. "This isn't helping."

I turned to look at Bella. Seraphina was standing over her, hate in her red eyes. "You will pay for everything, you little bitch."

A spark of anger ran through Bella. "I haven't done anything." She hissed. "You wanted to kill him anyway. I just beat you to the punch."

Before Seraphina could jump at her, I grabbed her by the arm and swung her around to face me. "You will not touch her."

"Don't tell me what I can't do, Jasper. I control you, not the other way around."

"That's where you're wrong." I growled. "I will be the one to end her miserable existence. Just as I will be the one to end yours."

For the first time, I felt a flash of fear. "You wouldn't dare." We danced around in a circle as she tried to avoid my attacks.

"Oh, I would."

"You can't kill me." she laughed. "You don't have the nerve." She stopped moving and crossed her arms.

"If I had the nerve to kill Alice, I'm sure I'll have no issue with you."

Someone gasped. I didn't turn to see who it was. Frankly, I just didn't give a fuck. "Say goodnight, Seraphina. Tell the devil I say hello." Much like Alice, Serahina didn't see it coming. I moved in front of her and ripped off her head, throwing it into a fire that she had already started.

That seemed too easy but I didn't think much more about it. I turned towards Bella. "Well, Bella, are you ready to say goodbye?"

She stared at me hard, searching for some part of the old Jasper. I squashed him down.

"I've got nothing left." She whispered. "I won't fight you, Jasper." she looked away. "You're all I've ever needed. I love you."

Her words echoed through my head as I ripped her head off her body. Desire, lust, friendship, but strongest of all her love, wrapped around me until there was nothing but emptiness.

Edward howled in rage behind me as my head wrapped around what just happened. Then memories so strong brought me to my knees.

oOo

"_Why are you all dressed up?_

"_I'm going to the ball Sarah's family is throwing." _

"_You're actually going to that thing? I thought you said it was lame." _

"_I don't have a choice. Papa is making me." She sighed and threw herself down on the bed beside me. "You should probably leave before he finds out you're here." _

_I ignored that. "Why is he making you? Is it punishment?" _

"_No. Papa thinks that it's time for me to enter society. He says I'm old enough for courting."_

_I sat up and looked at her. "Courting?" _

"_Yes. You know: marriage, children... a family." _

_I blinked and stared at her hard. "Is that what you want?"_

_She turned to look at me. "I don't really know." She admitted, reaching up to brush a curl away. "Maybe one day." _

"_Why would you want to get married?" _

_She laughed. "It can't be just you and me for the rest of our lives, Jasper. One day we're both going to have to get married." _

"_What if I don't want to get married?"_

_She shrugged. "That's your choice. But something tells me your mama isn't going to be very happy if you don't. And your papa wants you to settle down as well." _

"_What's he going to do?"_

"_Who knows?" she shuffled through her jewellery box and picked out a necklace with a red stone. _

_I moved behind her and helped her put it on. Standing in front of the mirror, I finally realized just how different she looked._

_She looked stunning. Bella blushed at my appraising and turned around to face me. "How do I look?" _

"_You look like a star." I gulped. I'll admit, it was a cheesy thing to say but it was true. _

"_I don't believe you." _

_I took her chin in my hand and marvelled at how soft her skin was. It was like seeing her for the first time. "Trust me, Bella. You look beautiful." _

_She turned around and stared at herself in the mirror. "Are you sure?" _

"_Why do you doubt yourself?"_

"_I don't." She said indignantly._

_I wrapped my arms around her and rested my chin on her shoulder. "Just trust me, Bella. You look great." _

_We stared at each other through the mirror. Those chocolate brown eyes seemed to stare into my soul. My fingers stroked the skin of her stomach through her dress and I heard the sharp intake of breath. "Bella," I whispered._

"_Isabella?" _

_Bella cursed under her breathe and pulled out of my arms. "You need to leave. If Papa finds you, you're dead." _

_I went to the window, my escape route for years. "Come see me tomorrow." _

"_I will." _

"_Promise?" _

"_I promise. Now go." I climbed out the window, just in time. _

_*_

"_Hi." I whispered, leaning against the wall of the barn. "I didn't think you'd come." _

"_I promised that I would." She said, sitting down beside me. _

"_How was the ball?" _

"_Pretty dull, actually. Papa made me dance with Henry Cromwell. I'm almost sure my toes are bruised from getting stepped on all night." _

"_How tragic." I teased. _

"_It's not funny." She slapped my arm hard. "There hurt like hell." _

_I took her feet into my lap and took off her shoes to massage her feet. "Oh. That feels amazing." She groaned and leaned back. _

"_Was there anyone you liked at the ball?" _

_She bit her lip. I knew that look. It's the one she gives when she has something to say but is too embarrassed to admit. _

"_There was, wasn't there? Who was it?" I asked. "Come on, Isabella. Spit it out. Who am I going to tell?" _

"_I'm not afraid of you telling anyone." _

"_Than what are you afraid of?" _

"_It's Simon." _

_I stiffened and stared at her in disbelief. "Simon? As in Simon Taylor?"_

_She nodded once. _

"_You actually like Simon? Why?" _

"_He really isn't so bad, Jazzy." Bella said. "He's actually very sweet." _

"_It wasn't too sweet of him when he threw you in the pond, Isabella." _

_Her eyes narrowed. "We were kids, Jasper. And that was a long time ago. I've forgiven him for it." _

_I stared at her. "So you're going to forgive everything he's done, just like that?" _

_She stared at me. "Yes, Jasper. We were children then. We aren't now." _

_I pushed her feet off of lap and stood up.  
_

"_Where are you going?" she crawled to the ladder. _

"_Away." _

"_Where?" She started to panic. Probably thinking I was going to pummel the guys face. _

"_I'm just goin' to think, Isabella. I'll see you later." _

"_Jasper," her voice was weak as I left the barn.  
_

_*_

"_Get off of me, Simon!" _

"_Come on, Isabella. You know you want this." _

"_Actually, I really don't. Now get off me."_

_There voices were closer. "Leave me alone, Simon." _

_There was silence until I heard Simon say, "Oof." _

"_You little bitch!" _

_I ran around the barn and saw Bella and Simon lying on the hay. Bella was trying to cover herself as Simon moved forward. _

"_Hey!" I pulled Simon away from Bella. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" _

"_Giving Bella what she wants." _

"_I sure as hell didn't want _that_!" _

"_Of course you did." He laughed. "What's the difference if we do it now or later? Either way, you will be mine." _

"_What are you talking about?" I looked at Bella, who appeared to be just as confused as I was. _

"_I'm going to talk to Mr. Swan about marrying her." _

"_Like hell you are." I roared. "There's no way you're going to married her." _

"_Charles likes me, Whitlock. I've got honour and power, something that will appeal to him more than something a farm boy could possibly offer her."_

"_Don't talk to her like she's a piece of property." I growled. _

"_But she is, don't you see?" _

"_Bella is, and never will be, a piece of property." _

"_We'll see, won't we, Whitlock?" Simon laughed as he left. _

"_Bella, are you okay?" _

_Tears were streaming down her face. I rubbed them away with my thumbs, inwardly cringing at how rough and calloused they were. Bella moved her hand over mine and leaned into my touch. _

"_You were right, Jasper. I'm sorry." She whispered. _

"_No, darlin', I'm sorry. I never meant for this to happen." _

_Her eyes closed and at that moment I realized that I could never let that scum marry her. She deserved so much better. "Bella?" she didn't respond. "Open your eyes darlin'." _

_They opened slowly and I stared into those beautiful brown eyes. "Marry me, Bella." _

_She was silent for a while. "What?" _

"_Marry me." I sat down and pulled her into my lap. "I love you and you deserve to have everything you want." I looked down at my hands. "I don't really have much to offer but I love you." _

"_Jasper," she started. _

"_Say yes, darlin'. I'm sorry I've been such a fool." I cupped her cheek in my hands. "Marry me." _

_She swallowed and smiled through her tears. "Yes." _

_*_

_I waited anxiously for Bella to walk down the aisle. _

_The day was finally here. The day I would make Isabella Swan my wife. _

_Caleb put his hand on my shoulder, holding me still. "Relax." He whispered._

_Finally Wagner's march began and Bella came down the aisle with her father beside her. She was stunning. Her gown was white with purple trimmings across the bottom half and a deep V neckline with purple bows. _

_Our vows were traditional but I was able to add one thing that I needed her to hear: _

"_Isabella, I take you to be my lawfully wedded wife. Before these witnesses I vow to love you and care for you as long as we both shall live. I take you with all your faults and your strengths as I offer myself to you with my faults and strengths. I will help you when you need help, and I will turn to you when I need help. I choose you as the person with whom I will spend my life. I'll always love you. Through heaven and hell, I will be there to protect you." _

_Bella was crying through her vows. I smiled and wiped them away. _

_Finally the minister completed the ceremony. "I know pronounce you husband and wife. Jasper, you may kiss your bride." _

_Bella smiled. "I love you." _

"_I love you too, Mrs. Whitlock." _

_Her smile widened and I kissed her. Our first kiss as husband and wife. _

oOo

My Bella.

I turned my head in horror as realization crashed over me. Bella. Edward and Carlisle were kneeling next to Bella's body and I watched as Edward leaned down.

I didn't understand what was happening. The urge to protect my mate, my love, no matter what state, washed over me and I ran towards them. Peter grabbed my arm and stopped me. I growled and snapped at him.

"Let me go."

"Relax, Jasper. Edward is sending venom to her to reattach her head."

I wished I could be there but I caused enough trouble. I wouldn't be surprised if Bella hated me for the rest of eternity. I collasped to my knees as everything sunk in.

Alice was dead. Seraphina was dead. Bella hated my guts. "Will she be okay?"

"Yes."

**A/N Okay, that's all. My longest chapter by far! I hoped you like it. Leave me a review and let me know what you think. I'm kinda nervous about this** **one.**

**By the way, there is a ink to Bella's wedding dress on my profile.**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N Alright, alright. Here's the next chapter. I don't know if I've done you justice bur I hope you like it. Enjoy. **

Chapter 21

Ugh.

God, I feel awful. I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing for the pain to go away. There was no physical pain. Only emotional.

Jasper killed me.

It's strange how the very man that declared his undying love for me is the same man that wound up killing me.

Talk about messed up.

Thinking back to everything that's happened in the past couple of months, I couldn't help but wonder how things would have been if Adam and I never came back to Forks. Would I have met Jasper further down the road or lived my existence with the knowledge that he was dead?

_Adam. _

I felt a pang of regret. I wish I had forgiven him when I had the chance. I knew he was upset when he said what he did. We lived a hundred years together. One little argument shouldn't have ended that. I knew I should have told Adam everything when it happened.

But maybe Adam was right. Was I selfish for wanting a friend after so many years alone? It didn't seem that way. I remember sitting with Carlisle in his office, discussing our past. While our stories were different, we wanted a companion to spend eternity with. We changed someone because we didn't want to spend our life alone.

Alice.

It's strange to think that the little devil hurt Jasper so much. Why couldn't she see him for everything he was? Jasper suffered through so much in his life. He didn't deserve to be treated the way he was.

I can't say that I'm sorry the bitch is dead. I just wish Jasper wasn't the one to kill her. Knowing him, the guilt is probably eating him alive right now. I wish there was something I could do to help him.

Alice reminded me of the Wicked Witch of the West from _The Wizard of Oz_. I would have loved to dance over her ashes if I was alive.

Does that make me evil?

I didn't think so. Alice hurt someone I loved above anyone else.

My thoughts drifted away from Alice and towards my father. My papa. How I wish I could see him again, just to tell him how much I loved him. He was so good to me and I didn't tell him often enough. After Mama left, Papa was so distraught and kept his emotions to himself. He feared that if he showed his emotions, everyone would see what happened and think him a disgrace. Think _me_ a disgrace.

I'm sure I would have been the same if it hadn't been for Jasper. He was always there and somehow knew what I was feeling. He used to ask me about them, bring me out of the corner. But there is still that little piece of my papa still with me.

When Papa died, I cried for weeks. He was my only family left, besides Jasper. But even he couldn't fill the hole that was there. He tried and I would always love him for that. Jazzy was there for me through all the ups and downs throughout my life. Even though everything went downhill after he left for the war, I could never forget all the things he did for me.

I hope Jasper got his humanity back. I hope he felt everything that I sent him. All the positive emotions to replace all the hate.

I'm not afraid of death. I'd embrace it any day, if only to help Jasper. Hell, I'd fight the devil himself if he threatened to take Jasper away. No matter what he may think, a world without Jasper is hard to see.

My mind drifted to a quote I remember reading somewhere by Shaw. _"As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death." _

I drifted into the blackness as I realized that my reason for living was done. Jasper was no longer under Seraphina's control. I was satisfied enough to let death take me…

**JPOV**

"Why can't I feel her?" I moaned into my hands.

"I think she thinks she's dead." Edward said, staring at Bella from the other side of the bed.

"Why would she think that?" I asked, taking her small hand in mine.

"She's lost in the darkness." Peter said from behind my chair. I know he wouldn't admit it but I think he was there to keep a handle on me.

"Her thoughts are coming and going every now and again." Edward mumbled. "I could have sworn she was thinking about _The_ _Wizard of Oz_, but I can't be sure."

Peter snorted. "Bella lost in Oz. How appropriate."

"Shut up." I snapped.

"Stop being so testy. She'll wake up once her mind is ready." He snapped back.

"But what if she doesn't wake up?" My panic was starting to get on their nerves. "Is it possible for vampires to stay in a catatonic state?"

"Jazz, seriously. If you don't quit bitching like a woman, I'm going to throw you out the window." Peter threatened.

"I am not bitching like a woman." I grumbled but went silent for the sake of staying in the room.

I stared at Bella, hoping she'll magically wake up and it will all be the way it was before this mess happened. I knew that was an unrealistic thing to want but I couldn't help it. I don't want Bella to be angry with me.

Yes, I was a fool and I seriously fucked up but I loved Bella. She was everything I could ever need.

"Please Bella. Open your eyes for my darlin'."

I don't know what changed but all of the sudden I could feel Bella's emotions.

Confusion. Acceptance. Guilt. Pain. Amusement. Her emotions went haywire and I would have fallen over if I was standing up.

One thing I loved about Bella was when she feels something, she feels strongly about it. It's also one I the things I hate about Bella. It's really a love/hate situation.

"Bella?"

She groaned but she wasn't quite lucid yet.

"Carlisle!" Edward called softly, staring at Bella's face.

He came inside, looking at Edward. Whatever he said made Edward nod once. Carlisle turned to me. "Jasper, I think it'll be a good idea if you wait outside."

"What? Why?"

"We don't know what state Bella is going to be in when she wakes up." Edward said. "If she's angry when she sees you, it'll be better if you're outside when she rips you apart."

"That's not funny, Edward." Carlisle said, though I could see him hiding a smile.

I weighed my options. "You'd better get out, fucker. I don't want to hear Charlotte shriek at me for the Jasper sized hole in the wall." Peter said, evidently ending my probing.

"Fine." I stalked out of the room, my shoulders slumped.

**PPOV**

I leaned against the wall and watched as Bella opened her eyes. Her eyes were black and she looked absolutely terrified.

"Bella?" Carlisle asked in a soothing voice. "Honey, can you hear me?"

She turned her head to look at him. She blinked a few times and her confusion was written all over her face. "Am I dead?" She asked. "Why are you here?"

"You're not dead, Bella." Edward said from her other side.

She looked at him. "Of course I'm dead. Jasper ripped my head off."

"We managed to reattach your head, Bella."

Her eyes closed. "What about Jasper? Where's he? Is he okay?"

"Slow down, Bella." Carlisle said, sitting down beside her. She moved her head until it was resting lightly on his stomach. Carlisle ran his fingers through her hair and I knew he was feeling paternal love towards her.

I saw Edward nod from the corner of my eye, answering my unspoken observation.

Bella's voice broke through my thoughts. "Is Jasper okay?"

"He's fine, Bella." Carlisle said. "Whatever spell was holding him was broken after…"

"He ripped your head off." I continued lightly.

"Er… right. Well after that, he seemed to realize what happened and the spell was broken."

"So… he's back to the Jasper we all know and love?"

"Yep." I said, popping the P. "Just a little more annoying and girly than before."

"Then where is he?" Bella asked, looking around the room.

Carlisle and Edward exchanged looks of surprise. I think they were thinking Bella was going to fly off the handle at the mere mention of his name. The fact was, Bella was anxious to see him and it wasn't because she was angry.

"He's outside." I answered. "Carlisle thought it would be better if he waited outside until you got your bearings."

She was silent for a few minutes. I watched Bella closely. Although I may not have been an empath, it was clear her emotions were going haywire.

"Carlisle? Is-is Adam here?" she asked.

"Yes. He's downstairs."

"Can I see him?"

"Of course, Bella. I'll go get him."

She smiled appreciatively.

**BPOV**

I waited anxiously for Adam to come up. I didn't know whether to be mad or sorry. I've messed so many things up; I'm surprised Adam still loves me like he does.

A light knock on the door drew me out of my thoughts. "Come in."

"Bella?" Adam poked his head inside.

Staring at him, I realized I needed to apologize.

Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I said, "I'm sorry," at the same time as Adam.

We stared at each other. Then I burst out laughing. Adam chuckled, effectively ending all the awkwardness and came to sit beside me on the bed. "Adam, I'm sorry. I'm so, so, _so_ sorry."

He sighed and ran a hand through his raven black hair. "Don't be sorry, Bella. I understand why you kept it a secret. You didn't want to reopen any old wounds. It was partially my fault you kept it a secret for so long. I should have told you about Silvana and Bianca."

I stroked his cheek and smiled. "All is forgiven, Adam. I realized while I was floating in oblivion that I should have apologized." He winced at my choice of words. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head. "Stop." He said. "What happened happened and we can't change that. I love you, Bella."

I smiled at him. "I love you too."

We sat in silence. "So, are you going to forgive Jasper?"

I didn't answer right away. Looking over at him, I smiled.

"So Adam, you and Kate, eh?"

**JPOV **

I paced back and forth, eager to talk to Bella. Even to hear her sweet voice again.

Peter came outside. "So Jasper, your projecting your anxiousness. It's making everyone in the house restless."

"I can't help it."

"You really need to relax. Bella will talk to you when she's ready."

"When will that _be_?"

"Soon."

"How do you know?" I growled.

"Because Bella told me she wanted to talk to you after she was finished talking to Adam."

I stilled. "How long has she been talking to him?"

Before he could answer, Bella came outside. She was staring at the ground but I noticed her eyes flicker to mine before looking down again.

"Did Carlisle give you the okay to come out, Bella?"

"No." She smiled mischievously at Peter. "He doesn't know that I'm here. And if you tell him, I'll rip off your balls and throw it into the fireplace."

He held up his hands. "You're secret is safe with me."

"Good." She turned to me and I saw the sadness radiating in her gorgeous eyes. "Can we talk?"

I nodded, unable to find my own voice. God, I was a pussy.

I led her into the woods and turned to face her. Bella was studying me closely. I tried to read her emotions but she was blocking me. Her expression was completely neutral. I didn't have a chance of finding out what I was getting myself into. Bella walked over so she was standing in front of me.

I snapped and fell to my knees, wrapping my arms around her waist and burying my face in her stomach. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." I chanted. "I fucked up, I know I did. I don't deserve your forgiveness and I wouldn't be surprised if you told me to fuck off and leave you the hell alone." I looked up at her face. "But I love you so much. I don't want you to be angry with me."

"Jasper," she sighed and ran her fingers through my hair. "You are a complete and utter idiot." Bella looked down at me and dropped her shield. I was covered with feelings of love and desire and friendship. Everything I felt before. "No matter how much you fuck up, I am always going to forgive you." She dropped to her knees so we were at the same height. She cupped my face in her tiny hands and ran her fingers across the planes of my face.

"Why?" I whispered, kissing the palm of her hand. "I don't deserve forgiveness."

"Because, I. Love. You." She leaned her face even closer. "When are you going to realize just how much I love you?"

I shook my head. "I never deserved your love, Isabella." I looked down, unable to look her in the eye. "Simon was right you know. He could have provided you with a better life."

"Simon?"

"You don't remember Simon?"

"Of course I remember him. It's kind of hard to forget the guy who tried to rape me. If you hadn't come and interfere, who knows what would have happened." She shook her head. "What does Simon have to do with anything? He's dead."

I shook my head. "Bella, Simon may have been a complete and utter jackass but he was right about something. You could have done so much better than me. I was never worthy of your love or even your friendship. I was nothing but a farm boy."

"Jazzy, you could never be _just_ a farm boy." Bella leaned forward and kissed my forehead. "You were my childhood friend." She breathed into my ear. I shivered. "You were my first and only love." She kissed the side of my mouth. "And you wanted me when you could have had anyone else."

"Bella,"

"You're wrong you know. It's the other way around." She looked back at me. "You could have had anybody you wanted." She bit her lip. I wish she knew how beautiful she was when she did that. "I used to be jealous of all the girls that pined for your attention. I was afraid that one day you would realize I was unworthy of you attention and dump me."

I wanted to laugh. "I guess we were both under false pretences."

She looked at me, a small smile gracing her beautiful face. "I love you, Jasper."

I sighed in relief and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. "You have no idea how much I adore hearing those words." I pressed another kiss to her lips. "I love you, too. More than anything."

Bella smiled and wrapped her arms around me, pressing the side of her face against my shoulder.

_My Bella_.

**A/N I'm really sad right now. This is the last real chapter. Next is the Epilogue. Don't forget to review. **


	22. Epilogue

**A/N Well, this is it folks. The very last chapter. I'm really sad that this is over. This was my baby. My first Fanfic. I hope you guys enjoyed it and thanks to all the support. I really appreciate it. Enjoy. **

Epilogue

_Forks Washington, December 2009_

**JPOV**

The rest of this year seemed to pass in a blur. It's hard to say exactly what happened simply because I was so caught up in getting to know Bella again.

We couldn't exactly go back to the way we used to be. We've both changed and grown into different people in all the years that we've been apart. I'm amazed at how independent Bella's become. She's changed so much but there's still that little piece of her that I will always love and adore. Now, there's more to her than I could have ever even imagined.

I sat musing by the window when I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Are you going to stand there looking at nothing or are you going to come and join us?" Bella teased, slipping her arm around my waist.

I smiled and wrapped my own arm around her shoulder, pulling her closely against me. "Sorry. It's snowing. I guess I got caught up in everything that's happened this past year."

The smile faded from her face and she looked sad.

"What is it, Bella? Why are you feeling sad?"

"Do you ever feel guilty?" she asked, staring up at me.

"Guilty?"

She nodded and rested her cheek on my chest. "You killed Alice. And Seraphina. You nearly killed me. Doesn't that make you the least bit guilty?"

I sighed and nodded. "All the time." I moved behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. "Alice may have been a lot of things but she didn't deserve her fate. I swore when I left Maria, that I would never kill anyone again. And look what happened."

She turned in my arms and looked up at me. "You didn't have a choice, Jasper. You were under her spell."

"I know. But I _wanted_ to kill, Seraphina. How does that make me any better than her?"

She didn't answer. "It doesn't."

I tried not to wince at her words. Despite my attempts, she knew.

"Wait. Let me finish." She cupped my face in her hands. "Jasper, you may have wanted to kill Seraphina but you were under that spell. The difference is she never had a heart. Even if that spell hadn't been broken, I'm sure at one point or another, you would have felt guilty for their deaths. She didn't know what it felt like to love and be loved in return. She thought Daniel loved her." I tried to look away but she wouldn't let me. "Jasper!" she cried, exasperated. "For God's sake will you listen to me?"

I stared at her. "Do you know how many people love you?" she asked. "Did you know that when you left with Seraphina, Charlotte and Peter called the Cullens? They came immediately to help get you back because they _love _you. Can you understand the differences?"

I nodded. "It was my love for you that broke the spell. Seraphina created a wall around her heart to keep out all the pain. The betrayal that Daniel caused her wounded her heart beyond repair. She was so focused on wanting revenge — first him for his infidelity, and then me, because I killed him before she had the chance — that she iced over."

Finishing her little rant, Bella huffed and sagged against my chest. "God, you're such an idiot."

I couldn't help but chuckle at that. "How many times are you going to tell me that?"

"Until you get it through that thick skull of yours that no matter what you've done in the past, you are not the same man you used to be. Even now, you're not the same man I fell in love with as a child. Jazzy, why do you always think you're not worthy?"

That was a good question. I didn't have any honest answer for that so I stayed silent.

She sighed and shook her head. "You are worthy of everything you have. You don't realize just how lucky you are."

We stayed silent, simply staring out the window.

"God, it's so beautiful." Bella whispered, pressing her hand against the glass. "Do you remember our first snow fall?" she asked, turning to look at me.

I nodded and pulled her against me. "It was just after we were married, when we went to visit your grandmother in Boston."

"It was so beautiful, then."

"Do you remember the last night before we left?" I asked, pressing a kiss against her neck.

"The sleigh ride." She sighed and leaned her back against me. "That was amazing."

"Yeah,"

"All right you love birds. It's time to decorate the tree." Esme called from the living room.

I sighed and pulled away from Bella. She was pouting. I chuckled. "Come on, Bella. It'll be fun."

Walking into the living room, I felt Bella's amazement as she stared up at the tree. It was huge. The tree was larger than most traditional trees.

"This is beautiful."

"Wait till Esme decorates it." Edward chuckled.

"We all decorate it." Esme argued.

Everyone but Bella and Esme laughed at that. "Esme, dear, we try to decorate it together but you always have specific places for each ornament." Carlisle said.

She glared at him.

Bella was feeling confused. "When we don't put it in exactly the right spot, Esme gets irritated and kicks us out of the room so she could decorate it herself." I explained.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Esme said.

"Just watch." Emmett whispered to Bella. "Within five minutes, she'll have us kicked outta here."

Bella chuckled and smiled widely at Emmett.

Emmett was right. Within five minutes, he accidently smashed one of the ornaments in his big hand and Esme shoved everyone out of the room so she could finish.

Bella was still laughing as we left the room. "Is she always like that?"

"Only around Christmas," Carlisle said. "But we're used to it by now."

She nodded and slipped her hand into mine.

oOo

"Bro, when are you going to ask her to marry you?"

I looked at Emmett in surprise. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Bella."

"What about Bella?"

"You are going to ask her to marry you, right?"

"What gave you that idea?"

"Well, you two are pretty much glued at the hip. You were married once before. Why not do it again?"

"I don't think Bella's ready to marry me again."

"What gives you that idea?" He sounded surprised. "Seriously, dude. If you don't marry the girl, Edward probably will."

"What?"

"No one wants to see Bella leave. You'd be surprised how much the rest of the family loves her." Emmett was joking about Edward marrying her. Right?

"Why would Edward marry Bella?"

"He likes her, dude. You're gonna have some hefty competition if you don't snag her soon."

"That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard."

"Say what you want but that's the truth."

I looked up at the sky while I thought. Lord knows how badly I want to make Bella my wife. "Do you think she'd say yes?"

"Dunno."

"Great help, Emmett."

"Thanks, man." He grinned widely, apparently missing out on the sarcasm.

I chuckled at my brother. He could be such a dope sometimes. "Will you help me pick out a ring?" I asked.

"You're going to do it?"

"I've actually been thinking about this for a while."

"Course, Jazz. Whatever you need, I'm there. I'm great at picking out jewelry for women."

"Bella isn't like Rose, Em. Bella would want something simple, but classy."

"Dude, no one is like Rose."

The lust coming off him almost made me gag. "Dude, tone it down a little."

"Sorry, man."

I rolled my eyes. "So when do you want to go?"

"This afternoon,"

He nodded. "I'm driving!"

oOo

"How about this one?" Emmett showed me another one.

"Emmett! I'm supposed to be picking it out."

"You are. I'm just offering suggestions."

"No, you're being annoying."

He huffed and put it back.

I turned back to the sale lady. "I need something simple. Nothing too extravagant."

"You sure you're girl will like that?" She asked with a flirty smile. "Most girls tend to like the expensive rings."

"My Bella isn't like that." I said patiently, though it was wearing thin. "Can you just bring me something else?"

"Yes sir." She said.

"Do you know when you want to purpose?"

"Christmas Eve." I said. "The first time I purposed to her, she was about to be raped. It wasn't exactly the most romantic setting."

"Bella was raped?"

"I said almost, and keep your voice down, you idiot."

Emmett frowned but I could feel his anger bubbling up. "Em, she's okay. It happened a long time ago."

"But still,"

"I know."

I sighed, my own anger brewing at the memory of that jackass.

"At least tell me you beat him to a bloody pulp."

I nodded once.

**Flashback **

_Simon was sitting in the parlor at Bella's house. He had a smug smile on his face when Claire invited me inside. _

"_Good afternoon, Master Jasper. How are you?" _

"_I'm great, Claire. Is Bella here?" _

"_She is getting ready. She will be down shortly." _

_I nodded and looked over at Simon. _

"_What are you doing here, Whitlock?" Simon sneered, standing up. _

"_I'm coming to take my fiancée out for a carriage ride." _

"_Fiancée? What the hell are you talking about?" _

"_Haven't you heard? Bella and I are engaged. I asked her the night you tried to rape her."_

_He recoiled at the word. "I didn't try to rape her." He hissed. "Bella wanted it as badly as I did." _

"_Really? It didn't seem that way to me. Usually when a girl says no, they don't want what you're giving them." _

"_Bella's father would never have agreed to this." _

"_Why not?" _

"_Because you're nothing more than a farm boy," he hissed. _

_My hands clenched in a fist. "Farm boy or not, Bella loves me. As for her father, he would rather see her married to someone she loves than someone who would harm her to get what he wants. Mr. Swan has seen enough about arranged marriages and what they lead to. He wants his daughter to marry for love, not money." _

"_No father wants to see their daughter married for love." _

"_Yes well, Mr. Swan is different." _

_He didn't have the chance to say anything because Bella came down, dressed in a red dress. My breath caught. "Bella, you look beautiful." _

_She blushed and came over to me, kissing my cheek lightly. "Thank you, Jazz. You look quite nice yourself." _

_I smiled and looked at Simon. "It was nice talking to you Simon. But now I'd much rather spend time with my fiancée." _

_I enjoyed getting under his skin. What I didn't realize was that provoking him probably wasn't the smartest idea. He followed me out and tackled me to the ground. Bella screamed._

"_You jackass!" he punched me in the jaw._

_I groaned, elbowing him in the face. I rolled over and got to my feet and rubbed my jaw. "Dame that hurt," _

"_Are you okay, Jasper?" Bella asked. _

"_Uh-huh." _

_Simon came at me with another punch but this time I ducked and punched him with enough force that it knocked him out. _

_Bella stepped over Simon and came over to me. "Are you sure you're okay?" she asked. _

"_No. I think I need ice." _

_She rolled her eyes and laughed once. "Come on. I'll get you some." _

_I smiled at the light that sparkled in her eyes. _

The sales lady came out, ending my memory and I saw the perfect ring. "There. That's the one." I said, pointing at it.

_**Christmas Eve**_

"Jazzy?" Bella called from upstairs. "Where is everyone?"

"They went hunting. They won't be back until morning."

She came down the stairs and into the living room. I was standing in front of the tree, staring at it. Esme did a fantastic job decorating.

"How come you didn't go with them?" she asked.

"I went this morning."

"Oh." She leaned against me and sighed. "It's so beautiful."

"Yes." Bella seemed to glow from the lights that were reflecting off her skin. "Bella, I need to talk to you about something."

She whipped around, looking panicked. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

I immediately realized how bad my words sounded because I started soothing her. "No, no. Everything's fine. There's just something I needed to ask you."

She swallowed, nervously. I led her to the blankets that I laid out. "Bella, you don't have to be nervous." I pulled her into my lap and wrapped my arms around her waist. "You know how much I love you, right?"

"Of course," she looked at me. "What's wrong, Jasper?"

Might as well get this over with. "Bella, I realized I've done a lot of stupid things since you came back into my life. But I never truly realized just how much you meant to me until you left me that first time. I knew that I couldn't live without you and I don't think I have it in me to try." Realization began to dawn on her but I put my fingers over her mouth to keep her from speaking. "Just wait. I will do anything you want to make up for everything. It doesn't have to happen any time soon but I want to know that you'll be mine forever." I pulled the black velvet box out of my pocket. "Marry me."

I opened the box, revealing the ring. The ring had a twist design with a .75ct princess diamond cut.

Bella gasped. "Jasper! This is beautiful." She looked at me with tear filled eyes. Tears that will never fall. "It's perfect."

"I know you, Bella. You don' like over extravagant gifts." I brushed my lips against her cheek.

"What do you say Bella? You haven't given me an answer yet."

She looked down at the ring, then at me.

"Yes."

_Rochester New York, June 2034_

WITH JOYFUL HEARTS WE ASK YOU TO BE

PRESENT AT THE CEREMONY OF

_ISABELLA SWAN_

_&_

_JASPER WHITLOCK_

JUNE FIFTEENTH 2034

Twenty five years before Bella finally agreed to marry me. It seemed to pass to slowly for me. I was dying for Bella to finally wear my name again. Was I that bad? I told her I would wait until she was ready. And apparently, that's now.

Staring down at the invitation, I wondered why I agreed to let Esme send out invitations. It seemed kind of pointless but Bella agreed to let Esme have her fun.

I just can't believe the day has finally come. Bella and I are finally getting married.

Only a few hours left.

I paced the little room impatiently. "Okay, Jasper. Really?" Edward came inside, looking annoyed. "Between you and Bella, I'm getting a migraine."

"She dropped her shield?"

"Probably subconsciously." He said. "She's nervous."

I chuckled. "Where's Carlisle?"

"Trying to keep Bella calm." Edward chuckled. "Bella's freaking out that Emmett's going to mess up the ceremony."

"Wouldn't put it past him." I grumbled. Emmett was going to be officiating. He got a certificate online and begged and pleaded for us to let him do it. I couldn't exactly say no.

"No, Emmett knows how much this means to you. He wouldn't mess it up." Edward said. "He may be a jokester but he can be serious."

"I know."

An hour passed before Carlisle came inside. "Hey, son. Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be." I looked at Carlisle. "How does Bella look?"

"Like an angel." He smiled. "I'm happy for you son. You deserve this."

"I just hope I can make her happy."

"Bella doesn't seem like the type of person that's hard to please. Rosalie, yes. Bella, no."

"Do you know who's walking her down the aisle?"

"Adam." He seemed saddened by that. I knew he loved Bella like a daughter but he understood that Bella would have liked to have Adam walk her down the aisle.

"She'll be your daughter soon enough, Dad."

Carlisle chuckled. "Yes, I suppose she is."

"Jasper, dude. We're going to start soon." Emmett said.

"Good luck son."

*

I looked around the room. I saw Edward, with his mate closely beside him. Georgina was found in the middle of the forest bleeding out when Edward found her. He was out hunting when he came across her. He didn't have time to bring her to Carlisle and changed her himself. It's hard to say what gave him the strength to stop but he did and they've been inseparable ever since. Georgina smiled at me.

When Canon in D began, I looked expectantly over at the entryway. Bella walked slowly down the stairs with Adam at her side. She was dressed in a beautiful white floor length gown with thin straps. There was beadwork across the top half of the gown. It was simple and totally Bella. Her hair was curled and hanging down her back. She looked magnificent.

The ceremony began and Emmett, thankfully, didn't screw anything up. Bella and I decided to write our own vows to save us from embarrassment.

"Bella, you have filled my world with meaning. You have made me so happy and more fulfilled as a person. Thank you for taking me as I am; loving me, and welcoming me into your heart. I promise to always love you, respect you as an individual, and to be faithful to you forever. Today I choose you to be my partner, and commit myself to you for the rest of my life."

I could tell Bella would be in tears if she could be. When she spoke, it was as clear as a bell.

"Jasper, what can I say to you that I haven't already said,  
What can I give you that I haven't already given,  
Is there anything of me that isn't yours already,  
My body, my mind, my heart, even my soul,  
Everything that is me belonged to you long before this,  
And it shall be yours long after this,  
I will follow you anywhere and everywhere you lead,  
Hand in hand and heart in heart."

I smiled. Slipping the wedding band on her finger, I sighed, knowing she'd be mine for the rest of eternity.

"I know pronounce you husband and wife. Jazz, you can kiss yer bride."

Bella shot him an irritated look. And he was doing so well. With a laugh, I kissed Bella for the first time as husband and wife. Again.

"It's my honour to introduce Mr. and Mrs. Jasper Whitlock!" Emmett's voice boomed and everyone cheered.

I grabbed Bella's hand and brought it to my lips. "I love you, Bella."

"I know." She smiled. "I love you too." She wrapped her arms around my neck. "Promise me something, Jasper?"

"Anything."

"Don't ever leave me again." She whispered against my lips.

"Never." I vowed. "Never again."

**Review please and tell me what you think about the ending. **

**Oh, and Bella's wedding dress and engagement ring will be on my profile. **


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